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This from the incom\xadpar\xadable Brit\xadish Council\u2019s con\xadtem\xadpor\xadary writers web\xadsite: \xa0 Born in South\xadport in 1969, David Mitchell grew up in Mal\xadvern, Worcester\xadshire, study\xading for a degree in Eng\xadlish and Amer\xadican Lit\xader\xadat\xadure fol\xadlowed by an MAin Com\xadpar\xadat\xadive Lit\xader\xadat\xadure, at the Uni\xadver\xadsity of Kent. He lived for a year in Sicily before mov\xading to Hiroshima, Japan, where he taught Eng\xadlish to tech\xadnical stu\xaddents for eight years, before return\xading to England.

In his first novel, Ghostwrit\xadten (1999), nine nar\xadrat\xadors in nine loc\xada\xadtions across the globe tell inter\xadlock\xading stor\xadies. This novel won the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was short\xadl\xadis\xadted for the Guard\xadian First Book\xa0Award.

His second novel, number9dream (2001), was short\xadl\xadis\xadted for the 2002 Man Booker Prize for fic\xadtion. It is set in mod\xadern day Tokyo and tells the story of Eiji Miyake\u2019s search for his father.

In 2003 David Mitchell was named by Granta magazine as one of twenty \u2018Best of Young Brit\xadish Nov\xadel\xadists\u2019. In his third novel, Cloud Atlas (2004), a young Pacific islander wit\xadnesses the night\xadfall of sci\xadence and civil\xadisa\xadtion, while\xa0ques\xadtions of his\xadtory are explored in a series of seem\xadingly dis\xadcon\xadnec\xadted nar\xadrat\xadives.\xa0Cloud Atlas was short\xadl\xadis\xadted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

David Mitchell lives in Ire\xadland. His latest novel is Black Swan Green (2006) \xa0 We met in Toronto to talk about exper\xadi\xadment\xada\xadtion and real\xadism, plot, char\xadac\xadter and all that good stuff, but also about the great\xadness of John Cheever, high brow and pulp fic\xadtion, good pot boil\xaders, the cos\xadmos, cosmi, con\xadnec\xadtions, meld\xading verbs, plat\xadit\xadud\xadin\xadous pro\xadfundit\xadies, crit\xadics as platy\xadpus taxi\xadderm\xadists, poetry in prose, the ori\xadgin\xadal\xadit\xadies of happy blun\xadders and cul\xadtural jux\xadta\xadpos\xadi\xadtions, Perec\u2019s W, mon\xadkey\xading with struc\xadture, plan\xadning your funeral, eval\xadu\xadat\xadive cri\xadti\xadcism, and the delight\xadful exper\xadi\xadence of read\xading Chekhov\u2019s short stor\xadies.

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