Yann Martel is a Canadian writer who won the Man Booker Prize for his novel Life of Pi (2001). Born in Spain and raised in Europe, North America and Central America, Martel got a government grant from Canada when he was in his 20s and devoted himself to writing full time. He published two collections of stories and a novel (1996's Self) before hitting a home run with Life of Pi, an exotic yarn that explores religious faith and metaphysics. Since then he has published another collection of stories, We Ate the Children Last (2004) and worked as a writer-in-residence at the University of Saskatchewan. He also runs an online project, What Is Stephen Harper Reading?, a running commentary on books he sends to the Canadian prime minister.

Extra credit: An illustrated version of Life of Pi by Tomislav Torjanac was published in 2007.