Robert Alan Jamieson was born in Shetland in 1958 and grew up in the crofting community of Sandness. After publishing two novels and a collection of poems while in his twenties, he attended the University of Edinburgh as a mature student.

Subsequently he held the William Soutar Fellowship in Perth, was co-editor of Edinburgh Review and writer in residence at the universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde.

Since 1992 he has pioneered the teaching of creative writing at the University of Edinburgh. His third novel A Day at the Office (1991) was among The List's '100 Best Scottish Books'. His poetry in Shetlandic Scots has been published in 'Nort Atlantik Drift'(1999) and 'Ansin t'Sjaetlin: some responses to the language question'(2005).