John Saul was born and grew up in Liverpool. After a career in teaching he was for over twenty years the translator for Greenpeace in Germany. He has also lived in France, Canada and Ecuador, and now lives in west London.
He is the author of the collections of short fiction Call It Tender, The Most Serene Republic and As Rivers Flow, as well as the novels Heron and Quin and Seventeen. With stories appearing in publications throughout the UK and internationally, he has had work in Dalkey Archive's Best European Fiction 2018 anthology (also shortlisted for the 2012 anthology) and Best British Short Stories 2016, as well as being shortlisted for the 2015 Seán Ó Faoláin international prize and 2019 H.E. Bates short story competition, and runner-up in Forge magazine's 2018 competition.
He has been on panels for several short story competitions, and written about fiction for the Guardian, Observer, Author and London Magazine. He is a member of the European Literature Network.