Mikey Walsh is the pseudonym of a British LGBT writer, columnist and activist, known for his autobiographical book series. He was one of the first Roma gypsies to write a book. He grew up in a caravan that went all over the UK and had almost no education. He learned to read and write on his own and his first book, The Gypsy Boy (2008), became a bestseller sold all over the world. A film adaptation produced jointly by BBC Films and Bowery & Bond is currently in preparation. He was raised to be a street boxing fighter within the Roma gypsy community, but because he was gay he was forced to abandon his family and culture in 1996. Walsh suffers from social anxiety disorder and avoids public appearances and the interviews. His last public interview was in 2012, for The Choice, on BBC Radio 4, in which he spoke about his life and what led him to leave his culture. In 2014 and 2015, he was included in The Independent's Rainbow List, which brings together the most influential British LGBT people. He starred in a video for The Albert Kennedy Trust where he shared the story of how he publicly announced his homosexuality. Walsh has been featured in the "Gay Role Model" issue of Attitude and has written several columns for the Gay Times. His second book, Gypsy Boy on the Run, follows Mikey as he leaves the gypsy camp and takes his first steps into the real world, to find his place.