Born Chesterfield, Derbyshire. After Cambridge he was an English Teacher and Head of Department in South Yorkshire. Became a full time writer in 1976. He was Young Writers' Tutor at the Royal Court Theatre from 1981-1984. In the 1990s he also tutored a dozen promising young playwrights at the National Theatre Studio, without destroying their careers.
Stephen is currently Academic Writer in Residence at Leeds Trinity College, and next academic year moves to the University of Kent at Chatham.