Olivia Laing is a writer and critic. Her first book, "To the River", was published by Canongate to wide acclaim and shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize and the Dolman Travel Book of the Year. She has been the deputy books editor of the "Observer", and writes for "The Guardian", "New Statesman", and "The Times Literary Supplement", among other publications. She is a MacDowell Fellow, and has received grants from the Arts Council and the Authors Foundation. She lives in Cambridge, England.