Steve "S. J." Watson (born 1971)S. J. Watson Turns Memory Loss Into Thriller.
The Wall Street Journal. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011. is an English writer. He debuted in 2011 with the thriller novel ''

Before I Go to Sleep ''Before I Go to Sleep'' is the first novel by S. J. Watson published in Spring 2011. It became both a ''Sunday Times'' and ''The New York Times'' bestseller and has been translated into over 40 languages, and has become a bestseller in Franc ...

''. Rights to publish the book have been sold in 42 different countries around the world and it has continued to be an international bestseller.

Personal life

Watson was born in

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

(now

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

). He studied Physics at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

and then moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he worked in various hospitals and specialized as an

audiologist Audiology (from Latin , "to hear"; and from Greek , ''-logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various ...

in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing-impaired children. In the evenings and weekends he wrote fiction.

Writing career

In 2009 Watson was accepted for the first course ''Writing a Novel'' at the

Faber Academy Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

. The result was his debut, ''

''. He was introduced to literary agent

Clare Conville Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

on the last night of the course and she agreed to represent him. The book was published in 2011. In the same year, the rights to adapt the film for the big screen by was purchased. The film was released in 2014. Watson's second novel, ''

Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fra ...

'', was published in February 2015, with two further books scheduled for 2017 and 2019. S J Watson published his third novel with Transworld, '' Final Cut,'' about a documentary film-maker who starts to uncover a seaside community's "dark and extraordinary secret".

Media interest

Media interest in ''Before I Go to Sleep'' was considerable and Watson himself was the subject of a profile in the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' before its UK publication, and ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' before its US publication. Watson has been profiled by '' Bookseller+Publisher'', and interviewed by

Kirsty Lang Kirsty Lang (born July 1962) is a British journalist and broadcaster who works for BBC Radio and Television. Earlier in her career, she was on the staff of ''The Sunday Times'' and ''Channel 4 News'', working as a presenter and reporter. Lang wa ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's '' Front Row''. He has also been interviewed by

Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...

, when ''Before I Go to Sleep'' was chosen as Mayo's bookclub book of the month.The Radio 2 Book Club
BBC Radio 2. 9 May 2011.

Bibliography

* * *Watson, S. J. (2020), '' Final Cut,'' Transworld Publishers,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, S.J. 1971 births Living people 21st-century English novelists People from Stourbridge Alumni of the University of Birmingham Audiologists English male novelists 21st-century English male writers