Neil Cross


Neil Cross is a British novelist and scriptwriter, best known as the creator of the drama series Luther and Hard Sun.

Life and career

Cross was born in Bristol on 9 February 1969. He graduated from the University of Leeds in 1994 with a degree in English and Theology. His initial career was solely as a novelist, beginning with Mr In-Between, which was published in 1998.
He later diversified into television, writing an episode of the BBC spy drama Spooks in 2006 before becoming lead writer on the sixth and seventh series of the show. He has also written for The Fixer and Doctor Who. In 2010 he wrote a new adaptation of Whistle and I'll Come to You, from the story by M. R. James.
He has created three television series: BBC crime thrillers Luther and Hard Sun ; and Crossbones, an action adventure pirate series for NBC. Cross also co-wrote the screenplay for the 2013 film Mama.
He has continued to write novels, including Always the Sun, which was long-listed for the Booker Prize, Burial and Captured; and has written a memoir Heartland, which was short-listed for the PEN/Ackerley Prize for literary autobiography of excellence. His most recent novel, , was published in 2011. In 2019 it was announced he was adapting Burial into the ITV series Because the Night.
In 2011, Cross was included in Variety magazine's list of 10 Screenwriters to Watch.

Television

''Luther'' Series 1