John Rice was born in Glasgow in 1948 and spent his childhood in Saltcoats, Ayrshire. After attending college in Irvine, he joined the Army’s Intelligence Corps in 1966 where he studied Arabic and became a translator in the Middle East. After his military service he settled in Kent.  From 1970 onwards, John had a number of posts in the arts. Following early retirement in early 2008 he decided to become a full time writer. He lives in Sedbergh, England’s Book Town. He has published 13 books of poetry for both adults and children, including Bears Don’t Like Bananas, Dreaming Of Dinosaurs, and Guzzling Jelly With Giant Gorbelly. His adult publications include The Dream of Night Fishers: Scottish Islands in Poems and Photographs.