Amir Tag Elsir is a Sudanese writer, born in 1960. He studied medicine in Egypt and at the British Royal College of Medicine. He has published 16 books, including novels, biographies and poetry. His most important works are: The Dowry of Cries (2004), The Crawling of the Ants (2008), The Copt's Worries (2009) and The French Perfume (2009). His novel The Grub Hunter (2010) was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2011 and translated into English and Italian.