Myers grew up in Belmont, County Durham,[2] and was a pupil at the estate's local comprehensive school where he became interested in reading and skateboarding.
Despite being one of the few bands in the scene that was not straight edge, Sour Face became the mascots, with their third performance seeing them open for NOFX.
[7] As a journalist, Myers has written about literature, music and the arts for a number of publications including New Statesman, Mojo, The Guardian, NME, The Spectator, BBC, New Scientist, Alternative Press, Kerrang!, Plan B, Arena, Bizarre, The Quietus, Vice, Shortlist, Caught by the River, Metal Hammer, The Morning Star, Classic Rock, 3:AM Magazine, Mineshaft and Time Out.
He has published several poetry collections and written a number of music biographies which have been widely translated.
He is a founding member of the Brutalists, a literary collective including authors Adelle Stripe and Tony O'Neill.
Myers' novel The Gallows Pole (2017), based on the true story of the Cragg Vale Coiners, received a Roger Deakin Award and won the 2018 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction.
[23] In 2014 Myers won the Society of Authors Tom-Gallon Trust Award[24] for his short story, 'The Folk Song Singer'.
[27] He was awarded the 2023 Goldsmiths Prize for his novel, Cuddy, which was described by the judges as "a book of remarkable range, virtuosity and creative daring.