The Signatory

Stuart Black was born in Sydney and attended school in Sydney and London. During his teens he developed a taste for playing and writing music but in his twenties realised that passion alone wasn’t going to pay the bills. So, after graduating from university, he started working for a large media company. A few years of data analysis later, it was time for a move into the fast-paced world of advertising. Despite the late nights engaged in the battle between commercialism and creativity (or perhaps because of them), he found himself waking up with the drive to pursue a new dream, writing adult fiction. His advertising career took him to London and beyond and even provided the occasional opportunity to perform in dimly lit European piano bars when the business meetings were over. And it familiarised him with a world that would later form the backdrop to his first published novel, Shallow Water.