David Adams Richards studied English from 1970 to 1973, when he left university to become a full-time writer. Although known mainly as a novelist, he has written poetry, short stories, non-fiction, screenplays, and biography. He has won many important awards, including the Governor General's Award both for fiction (Nights Below Station Street, M&S, 1988) and for non-fiction (Lines on the Water, Doubleday, 1998). Mercy Among the Children (Doubleday) was co-winner of the Giller Prize in 2000. In 1993, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by STU.