Kevin Brooks was born in Exeter, Devon, in 1959. He studied psychology and philosophy in Birmingham and cultural studies in London. He spent much of his early life writing and recording music, and later turned to painting and sculpting. He worked as a civil servant, a crematorium handyman, a hotdog vendor at London Zoo, a post office counter clerk, a petrol station attendant, and a call centre operator. Since 2002 he has written eleven novels for teenagers and has won several awards, including the Canongate Prize for New Writing, the Branford Boase Award, the North East Book Award, and the Angus Book Award. In Germany, his books have twice won the prestigious Jugendliteraturpreis and he has also been awarded the Buxtehude Bulle and the Golden Bookworm.
A Dance of Ghosts, his first novel for adults, was published in 2011. He lives in North Yorkshire with his wife Susan.