[2] Norris was born in Chichester in West Sussex, later moving to Wiltshire where he attended Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury.
He studied English at Keble College, Oxford, and creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.
After leaving university, he set up the touring Up in Arms Theatre Company[3] with the director Alice Hamilton, and worked in the theatre as assistant to Thelma Holt, Michael Frayn, Peter Gill, and Max Stafford-Clark, before becoming a full-time writer.
In February 2024, Norris was announced as the Green Party of England and Wales candidate for the Salisbury constituency at the 2024 general election.
[8] He has also acted as an ambassador for south-west based homelessness charity Alabare, as a member of the Society of Authors Sustainability Committee and chair of the Scriptwriters Committee, and as a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain Theatre Negotiating Team.