Owen Martell was born in Exeter in 1976. After studying at Aberystwyth and Oxford Universities, he spent some time working as a reporter with the BBC. His first novel, Cadw dy ffydd, brawd, was Welsh Book of the
Year in 2001. His second, Dyn yr Eiliad, was short-listed for the same prize in 2004. His latest book is Dolenni Hud, a collection of stories published alongside photographs by Simon Proffitt. His first English-language novel, Intermission, will be published by Heinemann in 2013.