John Hughes was born in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, Great Britain in 1970. He has worked as a milkman, landscape gardener, newspaper photographer, occasional proofreader and fish terminal goods inspector. He currently lives in Oslo, Norway, photographing art and antiques. He studied creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University under the guidance of Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy and Michael Schmidt. He has written over thirty collections of poetry, short stories, and two comedy dramas for television.