Steven Erikson was born in Canada and recently returned there to live after spending several years in the UK. He is a qualified archaeologist and anthropologist and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

His debut fantasy novel, Gardens of the Moon, was acclaimed for its combination of originality and intelligent, strong and exciting storytelling, singling out its author as a writer destined to rank alongside Donaldson, Eddings, Gemmell, Jordan and other giants of the genre. The first in a truly epic series chronicling the ill-fated Malazan Empire, Gardens of the Moon also took the internet by storm and had fans falling over themselves to praise this brilliant debut. Writing on amazon.co.uk, Adam Roberts, hailed it as 'a wonderfully grand conception…splendidly written… fiendishly readable' and over on the influential SF Site, Neil Walsh called it 'an astounding debut…you'll be hard-pressed to put it aside'. Stephen Donaldson added that 'Erikson is an extraordinary writer'. Gardens of the Moon was also shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award. Not bad for a first novel!

Erikson's second book, Deadhouse Gates, won equal praise - fellow fantasy writer Michael A. Stackpole wrote 'rare is the writer who so fluidly combines a sense of mythic power and depth of world, with fully realised characters and thrilling action, but Steven Erikson manages it spectacularly'. It was also voted one of the ten best fantasy novels of the year. The third and fourth volumes in the Malazan Empire sequence, Memories of Ice and House of Chains are also available in Bantam paperback, and have received equal acclaim. Midnight Tides, the fifth volume in the sequence, is out now and Steven is currently hard at work on book six - The Bonehunters.