Ian Thornton read Business Studies and German at Sheffield University. He has lived in a number of places including California, Costa Rica, Australia, Mexico, London, and his native and beloved Yorkshire before moving to Toronto in 2009. His debut novel, The Great and Calamitous Tale of Johan Thoms (How One Man Scorched the Twentieth Century, but Didn’t Mean to) was published by Simon & Schuster in September 2013. Harper Collins will publish worldwide on June 28th this year to coincide with the centenary of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the pivot of the novel. Translation deals have already been signed for Turkey and Poland and submissions have been made for twelve other languages. Negotiations with Hollywood for the film rights are on-going. The novel has been nominated for the Man Booker Prize of 2014.