Nicholas Royle was born in Manchester in 1963. He is the author of five novels – Counterparts, Saxophone Dreams, The Matter of the Heart, The Director’s Cut and Antwerp – in addition to more than 100 short stories, which have appeared in a variety of anthologies and magazines.

He has edited twelve anthologies including A Book of Two Halves (Phoenix), The Tiger Garden: A Book of Writers’ Dreams (Serpent's Tail), The Time Out Book of New York Short Stories (Penguin), and Dreams Never End (Tindal Street Press). He lives in Manchester with his wife and two children.

He's also the editor of the Best British Short Stories series (Salt), and teaches creative writing at MMU.

Listen to Nicholas read his short story 'Salt'.