Tom McCarthy was born on May 22, 1969. He attended Dulwich College and New College, Oxford, where he studied English literature. His first novel, Remainder, was published in 2005. His other works include Tintin and the Secret of Literature, Men in Space, and C. He is also a conceptual artist and is known in the art world for the reports, manifestos, and media interventions he has made as General Secretary of the International Necronautical Society (INS), a semi-fictitious avant-garde network.