His interest in travel and history has seen him visit all seven continents. His most recent long journey took him 18 months by motorbike from Scotland to New Zealand. His first book, True North (2008, Polygon), was nominated for the William Mills Polar Book of the Year Award in 2009, and he is the recipient of a Creative Scotland Writer’s Award towards the completion of a second book about a year in Antarctica, Empire Antarctica.

He lives outside Edinburgh with his wife and three children.

www.gavinfrancis.com