Will Self

Will Self is a British novelist, short-story writer and essayist whose work combines satire with formal experimentation. His books include Great Apes, How the Dead Live and The Butt, while Umbrella was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

His writing also extends to the memoir Will and the essay collection Why Read. The Quantity Theory of Morality, published in 2026, returns to the concerns and recurring figures of his debut collection, The Quantity Theory of Insanity. Through its treatment of social behaviour and moral judgement, the later book continues his interest in the institutions, habits and forms of alienation that shape contemporary British life.