Dominic O'Sullivan was born in North London and grew up in Muswell Hill. He has, however, spent much of his time in East Anglia. He studied German at the University of East Anglia under the guidance of his tutor Dr. W. G. 'Max' Sebald. He has taught English, French, German and Italian in a number of London colleges and universities and has also been involved in translation work in French and German. In 2009, he published his first collection of short stories, 'Swifts', Of which the title story has also been performed as a play.