“It wasn't until my teenage years that a book really left a mark, and that was George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four.' It was on the syllabus at school when I was about 16, and I went on to read more of his books. It was the height of the Cold War, so a lot of the messages really resonated at the time.”

Scottish autobiographer, novelist, playwright and screenwriter

John Niven is a Scottish autobiographer, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. He is known for fiction and writing for the stage and screen. His books include Kill Your Friends, The Amateurs, The Second Coming and O Brother. Across his work, he has built a reputation as a sharp, unsparing storyteller who moves between autobiography, novels and drama.