Mathew Tobin Anderson, author of Feed, was born in 1968 and grew up outside of Boston, USA. His father was an engineer and his mother, an Episcopalian priest. Anderson attended St Mark’s School before going on to Harvard University then Cambridge University where he studied English literature, continuing his education with the gaining of a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Syracuse University. Before becoming a successful writer, Anderson had worked in a fast food restaurant, a department store and as a radio presenter.

His most notable novels include Burger Wuss, a fast food revenge book, Thirsty, a vampire novel, and Feed, a futuristic dystopian novel. Feed was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the LA Times Book Award for Young Adult fiction in 2003 as well as the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. Anderson has also written a number of children’s picture books.

Anderson is known for challenging his readers to reflect on the society in which they are a part, as well as the future it is creating. Making his task more difficult is that he writes with a young adult audience in mind, often adopting the language of youth, and taps into the contemporary culture, critically examining both it and the world in which it exists. He has expressed in interviews that he holds optimism for the youth of the day, suggesting they possess greater intelligence than that for which they are credited, believing they will deliver a future full of things that cannot be imagined today.

Still living in the Boston area, Anderson spends his time surrounded by his passion for the fine arts and writing. He continues to write and is active on several boards including the Vermont College of Fine Arts and the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, a national non-profit organization that advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries.