Sample of authors
Schlink, Bernhard
The German lawyer and author Bernhard Schlink was born in Grossdornberg (now part of the city of Bielefeld) and grew up in Heidelberg. His mother was Swiss and his father German, a professor of theology at the University of Heidelberg. As a young man Schlink was interested in literature; he wanted either to become an author or to study history and sociology. But he followed his father's advice...

Sample of authors
Parsons, Tony
English author and journalist, born and grew up as the only child in a working-class family in Romford, Essex. When Tony Parsons was five years old the family moved to Billericay, also in Essex, where he grew up. He attended Barstable Grammar School in Basildon, which he left at the age of 16 with rotten grades. In the years immediately after that, he had several short, menial jobs, including a...