Matthew Chapman was born in Cambridge, England. He came to America in the 80s and has lived here ever since, first in Los Angeles, then, for the last ten years, in New York. He writes screenplays and non-fiction books and has written for Harpers Magazine.

His latest book is "40 Days and 40 Nights – Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities On Trial in Pennsylvania". Published by Harper/Collins, it tells the story of a small town ripped apart when fundamentalism and science came in conflict.

He also wrote "Trials Of The Monkey – An Accidental Memoir". Published by Picador, it is an account of the Scopes Trial told in the form of a road trip Chapman took to the town where the trial took place, along with a memoir of his childhood growing up as a descendant of Charles Darwin.