About the author

Conrad was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and educated at Bedales School in England. He studied English and Law at Trinity College, Cambridge, and later qualified as a barrister (Middle Temple). His highly acclaimed novels Sex & Genius, The Concert Pianist and Unfinished Business were published by Bloomsbury in 2001, 2006 and 2016, respectively.  His new novel Say You Love Me is published in March 2026 by The Author's Collective.  In a parallel life he has been a literary agent on the film/TV side, specialising in book-into-film projects and scriptwriters.  His deal-making career has spanned the original BBC adaptation of Michael Ridpath's House of Cards and the movie of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet.

In Articles and Extracts you can read his reflections on the author-agent relationship (Double Agent) as well as other pieces relevant to the novels..

Classical piano has been an abiding passion. Aside from The Concert Pianist (about the emotional life of a great pianist) his music-related writing has included Clifford de Brabazon: Concert Pianist, read on BBC Radio 4 by Pip Torrens, and many articles for Piano Magazine.  His libretto, Dionysos, written for the composer Roberto Rusconi and inspired by Nonnus' 5th century AD epic Dionysiaca, was performed as a workshop at the Royal Opera House. Conrad's pianistic adventures are intrepid and omnivorous and it has been a great privilege to perform at no less than eight of Lucy Parham's Celebrity Coffee Concerts at King's Place alongside such amateur titans of the keyboard as Alistair McGowan, Alan Rusbridger and Edward Woodward.

Conrad moved to the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons, Wales) in 2019 where he lives with the artist and psychologist Fiona Seth-Smith. His new work-in-progress includes a non-fiction book about the locality, In the Land of the Goose and Cuckoo, The Art of Editing and a monograph: OnSitting Down to Learn Alkan's Concerto for Solo Piano Again.