Polly Clark was born in Canada and brought up in Scotland. Her debut novel, Larchfield (2017), fictionalised a little-known period in the life of the poet W.H. Auden. It won the Mslexia Prize, as well as critical plaudits from Margaret Atwood, Louis de Bernières and Richard Ford. Her follow-up, Tiger (2019), was shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year. She is also the author of four collections of poetry. Her first, Kiss (2000), won an Eric Gregory Award and her second, Take Me With You (2005), was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. She divides her time between the west of Scotland and a houseboat in London.