Gavin Francis was born in 1975 and brought up in Fife, Scotland. After qualifying from medical school in Edinburgh he spent ten years travelling, visiting all seven continents. He has worked in Africa and India, made several trips to the Arctic, and crossed Eurasia and Australasia by motorcycle. His first book, True North, was published in 2008. His next book, Empire Antarctica, was shortlisted for the Costa and Ondaatje Prizes and won Scottish Book of the Year in 2013. He contributes regularly to the Guardian, London Review of Books, and the New York Review of Books. He lives in Edinburghwww.gavinfrancis.com