William John Banville, who sometimes writes as John Banville and sometimes as Benjamin Black, is an Irish novelist, adapter of dramas, and screenwriter. Banville has written more than 17 novels, including The Book of Evidence and the 2005 Booker Prize-winning The Sea. Under the pseudonym Benjamin Black he has released two bestselling crime series: the Strafford series and the Quirke series. He has twice been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger. In 2014 the novels starring Quirke, the surly but brilliant pathologist, were adapted into a major BBC TV series starring Gabriel Byrne. Banville has also been the recipient of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Guardian Fiction Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, a Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, and the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature. In 2013 Banville was awarded the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Achievement in Irish Literature. He lives in Dublin.
With over 20 years of recording experience, British voiceover artist Nicholas Guy Smith continues to be a much sought-after voiceover actor of promos, video games, cartoons, documentaries and audiobooks. He has voiced characters for Fox, Paramount, Disney and the Cartoon Network, to name but a few. With his extensive range of character voices, he has brought literally hundreds of characters to life. But he is still best known for his suave and sophisticated sound that can be heard in numerous national radio and television commercials.