Alex Michaelides is a British-Cypriot author, born in 1977, known for his debut novel "The Silent Patient". Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a screenwriter, including writing for the film "The Devil You Know" (2013). He studied English literature at Cambridge University and earned an MA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Michaelides has also worked as a psychotherapist, which inspired him to write "The Silent Patient". The novel has been a commercial and critical success, with translations in over forty languages, and it won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Mystery and Thriller in 2019.