Paul Crawford PhD, FRSA, FAcSS, FRSPH is an award-winning writer and a pioneering figure in the field of health humanities, a discipline he founded to enhance well-being through creativity. He is the world’s first professor of health humanities and currently directs the Centre for Social Futures at the Institute of Mental Health, The University of Nottingham, UK. His innovative work has earned him fellowships from prestigious institutions such as the Royal Society of Arts and the Academy of Social Sciences.

Professor Crawford spearheaded the "What's Up With Everyone" campaign with Academy Award–winning animation studio Aardman, creating short films to boost young people's mental health literacy on topics like perfectionism, loneliness, and social media. This impactful project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, reached over 17 million people within four months of its 2021 launch. Crawford's first novel, Nothing Purple, Nothing Black, was optioned for film, and he contributed research to the disabilities-focused feature film, Astronaut, with award-winning filmmaker Chi Thai. His second novel, The Wonders of Doctor Bent, will be published on February 28, 2025.

As a non-fiction author, Crawford's works span a broad range of topics, from mental health literacy to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. His book, Florence Nightingale at Home, won Best Achievement in The People’s Book Prize 2022. He is also the Joint Editor-in-Chief for The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Health Humanities and Commissioning Editor for two book series, Arts for Health and Routledge Studies in Literature and Health Humanities.