Gareth L. Powell was born and raised in Bristol, UK, and his early mentors included Diana Wynne Jones and Helen Dunmore.
His novels Ack-Ack Macaque and Embers of War both won the British Science Fiction Association Award for best novel, and Embers of War was also shortlisted for the Locus Awards. He is a popular guest and speaker at conventions and literary events and can often be found on Twitter giving advice and encouragement to up-and-coming writers.
He has written fiction for Interzone and Clarkesworld, a five-page comic strip for 2000 AD, and articles on science fiction and creative writing for The Guardian, The Irish Times, Shoreline of Infinity and SFX. He has worked as a music journalist for Acoustic Magazine and is currently a columnist for The Engineer.
He still lives near Bristol and is represented in all professional matters by Alexander Cochran of the C&W literary agency.