Garfield Ellis, author of Till I’m Laid To Rest, an upcoming title from Nsemia Inc. Publishers, grew up in Jamaica, the eldest of nine children. He studied marine engineering, management and public relations in Jamaica and in a varied career worked as a marine engineering officer on board ships, as engineering supervisor, and placement director of the Jamaica Maritime Institute. He has also worked as both the circulation and operations manager of the Jamaica Observer morning newspaper.

In between career changes and in preparation to eventually spend his life with his one love, writing, he completed his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Miami, on full scholarship as a James Michener Fellow.

He is a two-time winner of the Una Marson prize for adult literature; in the first instance for his first collection of short stories, Flaming Hearts (pub. 1997). In 2000 he won the same award for the upcoming novel, Till I’m Laid To Rest. He has twice won the Canute A. Brodhurst prize for fiction (The Caribbean Writer, University of Virgin Islands) 2000 & 2005 and the 1990 Heinemann/Lifestyle short story competition.

Garfield is the author of four published books: Flaming Hearts, Wake Rasta, and Such As I Have. His work has appeared in several international journals, including; Callaloo, Calabash, the Caribbean writer, Obsidian III, Small Axe and Anthurium. His fourth book, For Nothing at All was published by Macmillan Publishers in 2005