Peter John Turnbull was born 23 October 1950, Rotherham, Yorkshire, England), son of John Colin, an engineer, and Patricia Turnbull, a nurse.
He attended Richmond College of Fine Arts; Cambridge College of Arts and Technology, B.A., 1974; University of Huddersfield, M.A.; Cardiff University, Wales, C.Q.S.W.
(certificate in social work), 1978.
Religion: Anglican.
He worked as a government social worker at Strathclyde Regional Council, Glasgow, Scotland, from 1978-1995.
He also worked as a steelworker and crematorium assistant in Sheffield and London, and has done social work in Brooklyn, NY, before becoming a full-time writer in 1995 and returning to his native Yorkshire, where he currently resides.