Poet, novelist and playwright, Fred D’Aguiar was born in London to Guyanese parents. He grew up in Guyana, returning to England in his teens. He is the author of five novels, including The Longest Memory, which won the Whitbread First Novel Award and his acclaimed memoir, Year of Plagues, was published in 2021. His eighth poetry book, Letters to America was a Poetry Book Society Choice. His numerous plays have been staged in the UK and broadcast on BBC radio. He has lived in the US since the 1990s and he is currently Professor of English at University of California Los Angeles.