It is always interesting to discover more about great authors, playwrights, essayists, journalists and other writers. Sometimes reading the life story of a writer can provide additional insight into their work. Most authors write from experience, and many fiction writers describe incidents that have actually happened to them. Some fictional characters are loosley based on real people, and novels are generally located in an area the author knows well.

It can be inspiring to read about how and why a person first decided to become an author, and to see how he or she progressed towards becoming a famous writer.

Here is a selection of biographaphical articles about some celebrated English, Scottish and American authors, past and present.  

Enid Blyton  British author of books for children

James Boswell  Scottish biographapher of Dr. Samuel Johnson

William Buckley Jr.  American author and journalist

Dorothy Dunnett  Scottish author with an international reputation for historical fiction

John Galsworthy  British author of  The Forsyte Saga

Malcolm Gladwell  British  journalist and author of best-selling motivational books

Bevis Hillier  British writer and art expert, best known for his biography of the British poet John Betjeman

Jenny Nimmo  British author of books for children

Doreen Virtue  American author of books about angel therapy 

Brief profiles of several influential self-help authors can be found in this article on Top selling self-help books