Stan Barstow is a renowned English novelist who is best known for his works such as A Kind of Loving, The Watchers on the Shore and Joby. He was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire in 1928 and attended the local grammar school. He worked as a clerk in a coal mine before joining the Royal Air Force in 1947. After his service, he studied at the Leeds College of Art and then worked as a teacher. His first novel, A Kind of Loving, was published in 1960 and was later adapted into a film. He has since written several other novels, short stories and plays.