Genre-defying body of work

AS far as writers go, Geoff Dyer didn't become one out of a burning desire for literary expression. The reality is: he couldn't find any other job..

Says the 56-year-old Englishman: "I was so directionless, I applied for a random assortment of jobs: in advertising, the National Health service, journalism, TV, radio... I did get a job but was sacked, quite rightly, after a month. That was the last straw, or in terms of the writing life, the first."

Dyer is now a successful award-winning author with at least four novels, two collections of essays, and six non-fiction books to his name, among others.