He has written for various publications including Granta, New Republic, New Statesman and London Review of Books.
Educated at Trinity College, Oxford, where he studied chemistry, Peel joined the Financial Times in 1996.
From 2002-2005, Peel was the West Africa correspondent for the Financial Times, based in Lagos, Nigeria.
From March 2005 until 2006, Peel was an Associate Fellow of Chatham House, and a freelance journalist.
Michael Peel's first book, A Swamp Full of Dollars (2009) was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2009.