Billy O’Callaghan was born in Cork in 1974, and is the author of three previous short story collections: In Exile (2008) and In Too Deep (2009), both published by the Mercier Press and The Things We Lose, the Things We Leave Behind (2013) published by New Island Books, the title story of which earned him the 2013 Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award for Short Story of the Year.

The recipient of literature bursaries from the Arts Council in 2010 and the Cork County Council in 2015 among several other honors, including the Molly Keane Award and the George A. Birmingham Award, his work has been broadcast on RTE Radio One’s Book On One, Sunday Miscellany and the Francis MacManus Awards series. He has also been short-listed on four occasions for the RTE/P.J. O’Connor Award for Radio Drama. Billy won second place in the 2017 Costa Short Story Awards for his story The Boatman. He also contributes regular book reviews to the Irish Examiner.