William Boyd is a contemporary British author and screenwriter born on March 7, 1952, in Accra, Ghana. He is known for his rich, character-driven novels that often span different time periods and locations. Boyd's work is characterized by its vivid storytelling, keen psychological insight, and a frequent blend of humor and pathos. Some of his most notable works include "A Good Man in Africa" (1981), which won the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; "An Ice-Cream War" (1982), which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize; "Any Human Heart" (2002), which is a fictionalized diary of a 20th-century writer; and "Restless" (2006), which won the Costa Novel Award. Boyd's novels have been widely praised for their narrative complexity and their exploration of themes like identity, history, and the human condition. He has also written a number of screenplays for both television and film.