Terence Blacker FRSL (born 5 February 1948, near Hadleigh, Suffolk) is an English songwriter, author and columnist.[1][2]
Terence Blacker | |
|---|---|
 Blacker in Norfolk | |
| Born | 5 February 1948 near Hadleigh, Suffolk, England |
| Education | Wellington College Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, author and columnist |
| Spouse(s) | Caroline Soper, m. 1975, div. 2001 |
| Parent | Cecil Blacker (father) |
| Relatives | Philip Blacker (brother) |
Biography
editBlacker is the son of General Sir Cecil Blacker, and the brother of sculptor and former jockey Philip Blacker.
He grew up on the family farm in Suffolk. He attended Hawtreys preparatory school and Wellington College, before reading English at Trinity College, Cambridge, whence he graduated in 1969.
Blacker began his working life in horse-racing and as an amateur jockey.[3] Subsequently, he worked in publishing for 10 years during the 1970s and 1980s,[3] where he was responsible for overseeing the publication of works by Jerzy Kosinski.[4]
Blacker became a full-time writer in 1983 and has written children's books and mysteries for adults. His first children's book, If I Could Work, was published in 1987 and his first adult novel, FIXX, won critical acclaim and was described by The Guardian as a "tour de force". He is an active member of English PEN, and is also an EAW member.
In 1975 he married Caroline Soper, youngest daughter of the radical Methodist minister Donald Soper (div. 2001). They have two children, Xan and Alice. Blacker's partner is now Angela Sykes.[5]
He writes the "Endpaper" for The Author. For many years, he wrote the "Harvey Porlock" column in The Sunday Times, as well as a column about the book business for Publishing News.[3] His regular writing for The Independent, newspaper, usually consisting of twice-weekly columns, came to an end in December 2013 after nearly 16 years.[6]
Blacker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2017.[7][8]
Bibliography
edit- Adult books
- You Cannot Live as I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This: The Thoroughly Disgraceful Life and Times of Willie Donaldson (Ebury Press, 2007), ISBN 978-0-09-191386-1
- Kill Your Darlings (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000), ISBN 0-297-64658-3
- Revenance (Bloomsbury, 1996), ISBN 0-7475-2436-X
- The Fame Hotel (Bloomsbury, 1992), ISBN 0-7475-1244-2
- Fixx (Bloomsbury, 1989), ISBN 0-7475-0270-6
- Children's books
- Missing, Believed Crazy (Macmillan Children's, July 2009), ISBN 0-330-45848-5
- Parentswap (Farrar Straus Giroux, August 2006), ISBN 0-374-35752-8
- Tinseltown (Macmillan Children's Books, January 2005), ISBN 1-4050-5707-6
- Boy2girl (Macmillan Children's Books, 2004), ISBN 0-330-42121-2
- You Have Ghost Mail (Macmillan Children's Books, 2002), ISBN 0-333-96001-7
- The Angel Factory (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002), ISBN 0-333-90072-3
- The Transfer (Macmillan Children's Books, 1998), ISBN 0-333-68970-4
- Nasty Neighbours / Nice Neighbours (Macmillan Children's Books, 1992), ISBN 0-333-54675-X
- Homebird (Piccadilly Press, 1991), ISBN 1-85340-116-1; (Prentice Hall & IBD, 1993 ISBN 0-02-710685-3)
- If I Could Work (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1991), ISBN 0-517-07121-5
- The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Hodder Children's Books, 1990), ISBN 0-340-51261-X
- Herbie Hamster, Where Are You? by Terence Blacker, Pippa Unwin (Random House Children's Books, 1990), ISBN 0-679-80838-8
- Houdini, the Disappearing Hamster (Andersen Press, 1990), ISBN 0-86264-250-7
- Henry and the Frights (Piccadilly Press, 1989), ISBN 0-946826-99-4
- Neil's Book of the Dead by Terence Blacker, Nigel Planer (Pavilion Books, 1984), ISBN 0-907516-53-X
- Girl Power by Terence Blacker
- Ms Wiz series
- Out of Control, Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 2009), ISBN 978-1-84270-847-7
- Fangtastic, Ms Wiz Mayhem (Macmillan Children's Books, 2008), ISBN 978-1-84270-703-6
- Totally Spaced, Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 2008), ISBN 978-1-84270-702-9
- Ms Wiz Mayhem (Macmillan Children's Books, 2006), ISBN 978-0-330-44287-9
- Ms Wiz Superstar (Macmillan Children's Books, 2004), ISBN 0-330-43406-3
- The Crazy World of Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 2004), ISBN 0-330-43136-6
- The Secret Life of Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 2002), ISBN 0-333-99460-4
- Ms Wiz: Millionaire (Macmillan Children's Books, 2001), ISBN 0-333-94794-0
- Ms Wiz Goes to Hollywood (Macmillan Children's Books, 2000), ISBN 0-333-90175-4
- Ms Wiz and the Sister of Doom (Macmillan Children's Books, 1999), ISBN 0-333-76161-8
- Ms Wiz Smells a Rat (Macmillan Children's Books, 1998), ISBN 0-333-73734-2
- Ms Wiz Supermodel (Macmillan Children's Books, 1997), ISBN 0-333-71117-3
- You're Kidding Me, Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1996), ISBN 0-333-67103-1
- Ms Wiz Loves Dracula (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60774-0; (Piccadilly Press, 1993 ISBN 1-85340-250-8)
- Power-crazy Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60773-2; (Piccadilly Press, 1992 ISBN 1-85340-177-3)
- Time Flies for Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60772-4; (Piccadilly Press, 1992 ISBN 1-85340-181-1)
- Ms Wiz Banned! (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60771-6; (Piccadilly Press, 1990 ISBN 1-85340-092-0)
- Ms Wiz Goes Live (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60770-8 (Piccadilly Press, 1990 ISBN 1-85340-073-4)
- In Control, Ms Wiz? (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60769-4; (Piccadilly Press, 1990 ISBN 1-85340-061-0)
- You're Nicked, Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60768-6; (Piccadilly Press, 1989 ISBN 1-85340-051-3)
- In Stitches with Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60767-8; (Piccadilly Press, 1989 ISBN 1-85340-044-0)
- Ms Wiz Spells Trouble (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), ISBN 0-333-60766-X; (Piccadilly Press, 1988), ISBN 1-85340-022-X
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Open Directory – Arts: Literature: Authors: B: Blacker,_Terence". Open Directory Project. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ "East Anglian Writers: Terence Blacker". East Anglian Writers. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ a b c Blacker, Terence (2001). "Terence Blacker Questions & Answers". Writers Online. Archived from the original on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ Blacker, Terence (17 June 2002). "Plagiarism? Let's just call it postmodernism". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ "Terence Blacker official website". Archived from the original on 22 October 2012.
- ^ Blacker, Terence (16 December 2013), "By all means 'prepare' for old age. But don’t forget to live in the present", The Independent.
- ^ Onwuemezi, Natasha, "Rankin, McDermid and Levy named new RSL fellows", The Bookseller, 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Current RSL Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
External links
edit- TerenceBlacker.com Official website featuring his books for adults and children, latest articles, blogs and news.
- Column archive at The Independent
- Terence Blacker at Journalisted
- Terence Blacker Questions & Answers from Writers OnlineRegional/Europe/United_Kingdom/News_and_Media/Columnists/Blacker,_Terence