Johnny Gaunt was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. His past occupations have included scrapyard worker, roofer, night-shift garage attendant, door-to-door salesman, call-centre operative, and member of a railway gang. He now works within the NHS. He has a degree in English Literature and Philosophy from the University of Sheffield and a MA in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University. Offcumden is his first novel, and won The Literary Consultancy PEN Factor Prize in 2022. He has lived in London, Wales and the Channel Islands, but now resides in Western Scotland with his wife and two daughters.