"The first pangs of apprehension appear as we pass through Oxenholme. Once upon a time I promised to meet Benjamin there, but I didn’t, and I never forgave myself for that.  The sensation gathers momentum as the North Pennines rise into view like bleak, silent giants. I feel the shadow of my past looming, the shadow of the north, the shadow of 1985."

Russell Mattinson joined the Stockholm Writers Group in 2021 and is currently writing his first novel, an LGBTQ coming-of-age drama set in Northern England, where he spent his childhood and teenage years. Russell has experimented with writing fiction since studying literature at university in the UK, and worked for many years as a creative copywriter. In 2019, Russell attended the Yale Writers’ Workshop, where he was tutored by the renowned American author Sergio Troncoso. With the guidance and encouragement of Sergio and his classmates, Russell reignited his journey as a writer.

Russell is interested in exploring issues of identity, desire and otherness, topped off with healthy doses of intrigue and suspense. He is inspired by stories such as The Secret History (Donna Tartt), The Talented Mr Ripley (Patricia Highsmith) and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers).

Russell works as a brand strategy consultant and is an avid reader, gamer and swimmer. He lives in Stockholm with his partner Fred and Labrador Henry, and is a member of the board for the Stockholm Writers Festival.