Adam was brought up in a religious cult and has lived with addiction, learning difficulties (dyspraxia and, more recently, ADHD) and mental health challenges. These experiences run through his work. His great-grandparents were Eastern European Jewish immigrants, and he often thinks he might not be here if they hadn’t been allowed into England. That sense of displacement and inheritance informs much of his writing.

Raised in a very restrictive religious family where all forms of fiction and popular culture were forbidden, he became obsessed with stories in all forms: novels, country music, graphic novels, TV and film. He often imagined himself as a character in a film and was always inventing imaginary narratives.

He also takes inspiration from music including Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, The RZA, Eminem and Lauryn Hill, and from TV shows like Fleabag and Peep Show, which he admires for their honesty, intimacy and willingness to humanise taboo thoughts. They made him feel more normal. If his work can have that effect on someone else, that would be the best outcome he could hope for.