Mark Wollacott

Mark Wollacott was born in 1980 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and grew up there, but has spent most of his 20s in Japan and Hungary. He studied at Europe’s smallest university, the University of Wales, Lampeter and played badly for their cricket team. Graduation saw him move into an assistant manager role at a hiking store in Cirencester until it burnt down in 2004.

After a brief stint in Bristol, he spent five years teaching English in Osaka, Japan. While there he wrote for Kansai Time Out, Kansai Scene and on coming back to England, The Austin Post. His first short story "The Spare Room" was published in the For Tohoku charity anthology in 2011.

He has found it increasingly difficult to find work in Britain and his poetry collection "108 Breaths" is his first attempt on a long road to becoming a self-publisher and full-time writer. It is either that or join the dole queue. Mark now spends most of his time writing, arguing with his cat and wishing Aston Villa would not sell their best players.