Tom Sykes is the author of seven books including The Realm of the Punisher, a collection of reportage on the Philippines that received good reviews in the Times Literary Supplement and the London Magazine; Imagining Manila, an academic monograph; and Coast of Teeth, a travelogue of the English seaside, endorsed by Will Self and Arthur Smith. He is Associate Professor in Creative Writing and Global Journalism at the University of Portsmouth, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.