Charles Cumming

Charles Cumming was born in Scotland in 1971. He was educated at Eton and graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1994 with First Class Honours in English Literature. In 1995, he was approached by the UK's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).

The Observer has described Cumming as "the best of the new generation of British spy writers who are taking over where John le Carre and Len Deighton left off". He is the author of twelve novels which have been translated into thirteen languages. His work is published in the United States by St Martin's Press. His most recent novel, Kennedy 35, was chosen as a Thriller of the Year by Waterstones and the Financial Times. 

He is one of the trustees of The Pierce Loughran Memorial Scholarship fund which provides tuition fees for the Yeats Summer School in Sligo, Ireland. In 2008 he was a First Story writer-in-residence at Cranford Community College, London. He is also the founder and President of the Jose Raul Capablanca Memorial Chess Society.