Iain Hollingshead
Encyclopedia
Iain Hollingshead is a British
freelance journalist
and novelist.
Iain writes feature articles for a range of publications, The Daily Telegraph
in particular. Until recently, he also wrote a regular column called Loose Ends in Saturday's Guardian
. He has taken part in a number of radio shows, including BBC Radio 4
's Today programme
and You and Yours
.
His father is a GP and his mother is a surgeon. He has one elder brother. He went to Eton from 1993-98. Iain graduated from Cambridge University in 2003 with a first class degree in History
. He worked for a year in Westminster
- at Vote 2004 and the private office of Michael Howard
- before pursuing a full-time career as a journalist. Vote 2004 was described in the Sunday Telegraph
as the "most successful political campaign of all time". Iain was runner-up in the Guardian Student Media Awards
as Columnist of the Year. While at university he also founded and edited The Cambridge Slapper - a popular satirical magazine.
. The book won him the 2006 infamous literary Bad Sex in Fiction Award, which he accepted in person announcing "I hope to win it every year".
He is the youngest author to have won the somewhat dubious honour. This book has also been translated into Vietnamese by Le Thu Thuy, under the title "Tung qua tuoi hai muoi", and was well received by young Vietnamese readers. Overall the novel was well received, drawing critics' comparison with Sue Townsend
, Helen Fielding
and Tony Parsons
.
Iain wrote the book
and lyrics
for the satirical
musical
Blair on Broadway
, first performed in October 2007 at the Hen and Chickens Theatre
in Highbury
.
He is currently working on his second novel, and has a three-book deal to write fictionalised spin-offs of the TV series Spooks.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
freelance journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and novelist.
Iain writes feature articles for a range of publications, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
in particular. Until recently, he also wrote a regular column called Loose Ends in Saturday's Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
. He has taken part in a number of radio shows, including BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Today programme
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
and You and Yours
You and Yours
You and Yours is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.-History:It began broadcasting in October 1970, its first presenter was Joan York. In the great rescheduling of April 1998 it was increased from a 25 minute programme to 55 minutes. In the 1980s it briefly ran...
.
His father is a GP and his mother is a surgeon. He has one elder brother. He went to Eton from 1993-98. Iain graduated from Cambridge University in 2003 with a first class degree in History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. He worked for a year in Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
- at Vote 2004 and the private office of Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
- before pursuing a full-time career as a journalist. Vote 2004 was described in the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
as the "most successful political campaign of all time". Iain was runner-up in the Guardian Student Media Awards
Guardian Student Media Awards
The Guardian Student Media Awards are an annual UK-wide student journalism competition run by The Guardian newspaper.-History:Since 1947, The National Union of Students have run a student journalism competition of some kind. In 1978, The Guardian joined forces with the NUS for the inaugural...
as Columnist of the Year. While at university he also founded and edited The Cambridge Slapper - a popular satirical magazine.
Works
His first novel, Twenty Something: The Quarter-life Crisis of Jack Lancaster was published in 2006 by Gerald Duckworth and Company LtdGerald Duckworth and Company Ltd
-History:Founded in 1898 by Gerald Duckworth, Duckworth is an independent British publisher. It was important in the development of English literature in the first half of the twentieth century, being the publisher of figures such as Virginia Woolf , W. H. Davies, Anthony Powell, John Galsworthy...
. The book won him the 2006 infamous literary Bad Sex in Fiction Award, which he accepted in person announcing "I hope to win it every year".
He is the youngest author to have won the somewhat dubious honour. This book has also been translated into Vietnamese by Le Thu Thuy, under the title "Tung qua tuoi hai muoi", and was well received by young Vietnamese readers. Overall the novel was well received, drawing critics' comparison with Sue Townsend
Sue Townsend
-Adrian Mole series:* The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ , her best selling book, and the best-selling new British fiction book of the 1980s.* The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole * The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole...
, Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones, a sequence of novels and films that chronicle the life of a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life and love.Her novels Bridget Jones's...
and Tony Parsons
Tony Parsons
Tony Parsons is the name of:* Tony Parsons , Canadian news anchor* Tony Parsons , novelist and arts critic...
.
Iain wrote the book
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
and lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
for the satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Blair on Broadway
Blair on Broadway
Blair on Broadway is a satirical musical based on the political career of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The words and lyrics were written by journalist and novelist Iain Hollingshead, with music by journalist Timothy Muller....
, first performed in October 2007 at the Hen and Chickens Theatre
Hen and Chickens Theatre
The Hen and Chickens Theatre is a fringe venue for theatre and comedy situated above a pub at Highbury in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre management was awarded to actress Felicity Wren in 1999.-External links:*...
in Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
.
He is currently working on his second novel, and has a three-book deal to write fictionalised spin-offs of the TV series Spooks.