Matthew was born and raised in Newcastle and began freelancing for newspapers and magazines whilst still at school, writing about the arts and pop culture.

He has written five novels: Ashes and My Dearest Jonah - the second of which was nominated for the Dylan Thomas Prize for Literature - and one book for young adults, In Bloom, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and the North East Teen Book Award, and listed in the Telegraph's Best YA of 2014 List.