Toby Young
Encyclopedia
Toby Young, MA, FRSA is a British journalist and the author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, the tale of his stint in New York as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair
magazine. Young served as a regular judge in seasons five and six of the Emmy Award-winning television show Top Chef
and is the co-founder of the West London Free School
.
and raised in Highgate
, North London, and South Devon. His mother was the BBC Radio producer, editor, artist and writer Sasha Moorsom and his father was Michael Young, the Labour
life peer
and pioneering sociologist who coined the word "meritocracy
".
), Muswell Hill
; King Edward VI Community College
, Totnes
; and William Ellis School
, Highgate. Young initially failed most of his O-levels and got two Bs and a C at A-level, but gained a place at Brasenose College
, Oxford, after he was sent an acceptance letter by mistake. After gaining a first class degree he worked as a News Trainee at The Times
, then went to Harvard University
as a Fulbright scholar, where he worked as a teaching fellow in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, followed by Trinity College
, Cambridge, becoming a teaching assistant in the Social and Political Sciences Faculty.
with Julie Burchill
and her then husband Cosmo Landesman
. Its motto was "Low culture for highbrows". In 1995 the magazine was close to financial ruin and Young closed it down, angering his principal financial backer Peter York
. This decision led to a fierce public battle with Burchill and staff writer Charlotte Raven
.
Young moved to New York City
shortly afterward to work for Vanity Fair
. After being sacked by Vanity Fair
in 1998, Young remained in New York for a further two years, working as a columnist at New York Press
. He returned to the UK in 2000 and is currently an associate editor of The Spectator
, where he writes a weekly column, and a blogger for The Daily Telegraph
.
He has performed in the West End
in a stage adaptation of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
and, in 2005, co-wrote (with fellow Spectator journalist Lloyd Evans) a sex farce about the David Blunkett
/Kimberley Quinn scandal and the "Sextator" affairs of Boris Johnson
and Rod Liddle
called Who's the Daddy?. It was named Best New Comedy at the 2006 Theatregoers' Choice Awards.
From 2002 to 2007, Young wrote a weekly restaurant column for The Evening Standard and he continues to write about restaurants for a variety of British publications. In addition to serving as a judge on Top Chef
, Young has competed in the Channel 4
TV series Come Dine With Me
, appeared as one of the panel of food critics in the 2008 BBC Two
series Eating with the Enemy and served as a judge on Hell's Kitchen.
British producer Stephen Woolley
and his wife, Elizabeth Karlsen, produced the film adaptation How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
, in conjunction with FilmFour. Simon Pegg
played Young, who co-produced the film. The film was released in Britain on October 3, 2008 and reached the number one spot at the box office in its opening week.
Young co-produced and co-wrote When Boris Met Dave
, a drama-documentary for Channel 4
about the relationship between Eton
and Oxford University contemporaries Mayor of London
Boris Johnson
and current Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister David Cameron
, which aired on More4
on 7 October 2009.
Young is the lead proposer and co-founder of the West London Free School
, the first free school
in Britain to sign a Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State for Education, and now serves as the school's chair of governors. The school has become the focus of national opposition to the Coalition's free schools policy. In November 2011, Young stood over a decision by the school to suspend a boy who's hair was too short, even though he himself has a shaved head.
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
magazine. Young served as a regular judge in seasons five and six of the Emmy Award-winning television show Top Chef
Top Chef
Top Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants...
and is the co-founder of the West London Free School
West London Free School
The West London Free School is a British Free School for girls and boys aged 11 to 18. It was co-founded by Toby Young and opened in 2011. As with other Free Schools across the UK, it was set up with the assistance and support of the New Schools Network....
.
Biography
Young was born in BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
and raised in Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, North London, and South Devon. His mother was the BBC Radio producer, editor, artist and writer Sasha Moorsom and his father was Michael Young, the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
and pioneering sociologist who coined the word "meritocracy
Meritocracy
Meritocracy, in the first, most administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or...
".
Education
Young was educated at Creighton School (now Fortismere SchoolFortismere School
Fortismere School is a mixed, community foundation secondary school in Muswell Hill, London, United Kingdom.-Admissions:It falls under the London Borough of Haringey Local Education Authority...
), Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...
; King Edward VI Community College
King Edward VI Community College
King Edward VI Community College is a secondary school in Totnes, Devon, England. The College enjoy a favoured open site in the Dart valley amidst the rolling South Hams countryside...
, Totnes
Totnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
; and William Ellis School
William Ellis School
William Ellis School is a United Kingdom secondary comprehensive school for boys in Highgate, London.-Admissions:It is a specialist Language College. The School's motto is 'Rather Use Than Fame'. The school is over-subscribed, usually an indicator of a popular school. It is situated just west of...
, Highgate. Young initially failed most of his O-levels and got two Bs and a C at A-level, but gained a place at Brasenose College
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, Oxford, after he was sent an acceptance letter by mistake. After gaining a first class degree he worked as a News Trainee at The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, then went to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
as a Fulbright scholar, where he worked as a teaching fellow in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, followed by Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, Cambridge, becoming a teaching assistant in the Social and Political Sciences Faculty.
Career
In 1991 he co-founded and co-edited the Modern ReviewModern Review (London)
Modern Review was the name of a London-based magazine reviewing popular arts and culture, founded by Julie Burchill, Cosmo Landesman and its editor, Toby Young. It was published from 1991 to 1995 and principally financed by Peter York. Amongst its high-profile contributors were Nick Hornby, Will...
with Julie Burchill
Julie Burchill
Julie Burchill is an English writer and journalist. Beginning as a writer for the New Musical Express at the age of 17, she has written for newspapers such as The Sunday Times and The Guardian. She is a self-declared "militant feminist". She has several times been involved in legal action...
and her then husband Cosmo Landesman
Cosmo Landesman
Cosmo Landesman is a journalist and editor and son of Jay and Fran Landesman. With his then wife Julie Burchill, he set up the magazine The Modern Review. The magazine eventually folded, and Burchill left him for Charlotte Raven, one of the magazine's female interns.After the experience Landesman...
. Its motto was "Low culture for highbrows". In 1995 the magazine was close to financial ruin and Young closed it down, angering his principal financial backer Peter York
Peter York
Peter York, real name Peter Wallis, born 1943, is a British management consultant, author and broadcaster most famous for co-authoring Harpers & Queen's The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook with Ann Barr...
. This decision led to a fierce public battle with Burchill and staff writer Charlotte Raven
Charlotte Raven
Charlotte Raven is a British author and journalist.She studied English at Manchester University. As a Labour Club activist there in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she was part of a successful campaign to oust then student union communications officer Derek Draper, though she subsequently had a...
.
Young moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
shortly afterward to work for Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
. After being sacked by Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
in 1998, Young remained in New York for a further two years, working as a columnist at New York Press
New York Press
New York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
. He returned to the UK in 2000 and is currently an associate editor of The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, where he writes a weekly column, and a blogger for 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...
.
He has performed in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in a stage adaptation of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (memoir)
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is a memoir by Toby Young about his failed five-year effort to make it in the U.S. as a contributing editor at Condé Nast Publications' Vanity Fair magazine...
and, in 2005, co-wrote (with fellow Spectator journalist Lloyd Evans) a sex farce about the David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
/Kimberley Quinn scandal and the "Sextator" affairs of Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
and Rod Liddle
Rod Liddle
Roderick E. L. Liddle is an English print, radio, and television journalist.He is an associate editor of The Spectator, and former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he is the author of Too Beautiful for You , Love Will Destroy Everything , and co-author of The Best of Liddle Britain...
called Who's the Daddy?. It was named Best New Comedy at the 2006 Theatregoers' Choice Awards.
From 2002 to 2007, Young wrote a weekly restaurant column for The Evening Standard and he continues to write about restaurants for a variety of British publications. In addition to serving as a judge on Top Chef
Top Chef
Top Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants...
, Young has competed in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
TV series Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
, appeared as one of the panel of food critics in the 2008 BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
series Eating with the Enemy and served as a judge on Hell's Kitchen.
British producer Stephen Woolley
Stephen Woolley
Stephen Woolley is an English film producer and director. He is best known for his work with director Neil Jordan, which has resulted in a number of critically acclaimed films including the Oscar-winning The Crying Game....
and his wife, Elizabeth Karlsen, produced the film adaptation How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (film)
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is a 2008 British comedy film based upon British writer Toby Young's 2001 memoir of the same name. The film follows a similar storyline, about his five year struggle to make it in the United States after employment at Sharps Magazine...
, in conjunction with FilmFour. Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
played Young, who co-produced the film. The film was released in Britain on October 3, 2008 and reached the number one spot at the box office in its opening week.
Young co-produced and co-wrote When Boris Met Dave
When Boris Met Dave
When Boris Met Dave is a 2009 docu-drama which investigates the shared past of David Cameron and Boris Johnson who, at the time of broadcast, were two of Britain's most influential Conservative Party politicians – Cameron as Tory leader and Johnson as Mayor of London...
, a drama-documentary for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
about the relationship between Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Oxford University contemporaries Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
and current Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, which aired on More4
More4
More4 is a digital television channel, run by British broadcaster Channel 4, that launched on 10 October 2005. It is carried on Freeview, on satellite broadcasters Freesat and Sky, UK IPTV broadcaster TalkTalk TV and on UK cable network Virgin Media and in the Republic of Ireland cable networks...
on 7 October 2009.
Young is the lead proposer and co-founder of the West London Free School
West London Free School
The West London Free School is a British Free School for girls and boys aged 11 to 18. It was co-founded by Toby Young and opened in 2011. As with other Free Schools across the UK, it was set up with the assistance and support of the New Schools Network....
, the first free school
Free school (England)
A Free school is a school in England funded by the taxpayer, non-selective and free to attend but not controlled by local authorities. The concept of free schools is based upon a similar model found in Sweden as well as US charter schools....
in Britain to sign a Funding Agreement with the Secretary of State for Education, and now serves as the school's chair of governors. The school has become the focus of national opposition to the Coalition's free schools policy. In November 2011, Young stood over a decision by the school to suspend a boy who's hair was too short, even though he himself has a shaved head.
External reviews
- Toby Young Official site