Mark Lawrence was born in Champagne-Urbanan, Illinois, to British parents but moved to the UK at the age of one. He went back to the US after taking a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College to work on a variety of research projects including the 'Star Wars' missile defence programme. Returning to the UK, he has worked mainly on image processing and decision/reasoning theory. He says he never had any ambition to be a writer so was very surprised when a half-hearted attempt to find an agent turned into a global publishing deal overnight. His first trilogy, The Broken Empire, has been universally acclaimed as a ground-breaking work of fantasy, and both Emperor of Thorns and The Liar's Key have won the Gemmell Legend award for best fantasy novel. Mark is married, with four children, and lives in Bristol.
Praise for Daughter of Crows 'Sinks its hooks into you and does not let go' John Gwynn, bestselling author of The Bloodsworn Saga Praise for Mark Lawrence ‘Excellent – on par with George R.R. Martin’ Conn Iggulden, author of GENGHIS 'The Library Trilogy is one of the most profound and wholly original works of fiction that I’ve read in the past two decades. The Library Trilogy should place Mark Lawrence’s name in the same breath as other twenty-first century masters of speculative fiction' John Mauro ‘Mark Lawrence gets better with every book. It has a drive to it, a pulse, a gearshift that kicks higher and higher.’ Fantasy Book Review ‘This tale of knowledge and its cost flies by thanks to the gripping mystery and beautiful worldbuilding…readers will be desperate for more.’ Publishers Weekly ‘Lawrence works with many threads here, but none feels misused or insufficiently explored. Rather, the author unspools them masterfully, leaving behind a tightly woven tapestry that readers will ache to see finished even if they can predict one or two of the tale’s myriad twists and turns. Gripping, earnest, and impeccably plotted.’ Kirkus