Luke Kennard is an award-winning poet and novelist. His poetry collection, Cain, was shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and described by Alan Hollinghurst as "the cleverest and funniest thing I've read this year," and Notes on the Sonnets won the Forward prize for Best Poetry Collection in 2021. The Transition, his first novel, was BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime and was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. His most recent poetry collection, The Book of Jonah, was published by Picador in 2025 and Black Bag, his third novel, was published by John Murray and Zando in 2026 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He is a professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Birmingham.