Mark studied English at UCL, where his first short story was published, and was a runner up for the Whitbread Prize for Young Writers. He also had stories published in the London Review of Books and Fiction Magazine while he was at UCL. He went on to do an MA in Creative Writing at UEA, where Malcolm Bradbury and Angela Carter were the tutors. He continues to write short stories and is working on a new novel. He is still in West Yorkshire, with his wife and two children.