Alex Preston (author)
Alex Preston | |
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Born | Samuel Preston (brother) (grandfather)Samuel Hynes | 18 January 1979
Alex Preston (born 1979) is an English author and journalist.
Early life and education
Preston was born on 18 January 1979, in the seaside town of
Career
Preston was working as an investment banker in the early 2000s when the banking market collapsed and he turned to teaching and writing.[1]
Preston's first novel,
Preston's second novel, The Revelations, was published in February 2012, while his third, In Love and War, was featured on BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime.[8] His fourth novel, Winchelsea, is a historical fiction novel based on the activities of the Hawkhurst smuggling gang and set in the 18th century on the Sussex coast, was published in late 2022 by Canongate Books.[9][10] He is also the co-author of As Kingfishers Catch Fire, a memoir and anthology of literature about British birds.[11]
Preston reviews books for a number of national newspapers and magazines and was a regular panelist on
Personal life
Preston plays cricket for the Authors Cricket Club and contributed a chapter to the team's book The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon.[12] He became notable as player-umpire for asking of fellow novelist Richard Beard, "Do you think you were out?" in response to a bellowed LBW appeal. For this, Preston received the "Decision of the Season" award at their annual dinner.[13]
Preston is the brother of
Bibliography
Novels
- This Bleeding City (2010). Faber & Faber.
- The Revelations (2012).
- In Love and War (2014).
- Winchelsea (2022).
Other
- As Kingfishers Catch Fire (2017), with Neil Gower.[11] Little, Brown Book Group.
References
- ^ a b c d Preston, Alex. "Best-selling author Alex Preston on the "warmth and genial eccentricity" of Sompting Abbotts Prep School". Sompting Abbotts Preparatory School. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ a b c "About | Alex Preston". Alexhmpreston.com. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
- ^ "Dr Alex Preston - School of English - University of Kent". www.kent.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ "Faber & Faber : Alex Preston". Faber.co.uk. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
- ^ "Spears Book Awards 2010 Shortlist". Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ "2010 Readers' First Book Award winner announced". Edinburgh International Book Festival. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
- Waterstone's. 15 December 2005. Archived from the originalon 29 August 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
- ^ "Book at Bedtime, In Love and War, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
- ^ "Winchelsea" at Canongate Books.
- ^ Womack, Philip (19 February 2022). "Winchelsea by Alex Preston review – a salt-tinged 18th-century romp". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ ISBN 9781472152244.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-4045-0.
- ^ Hogg, Nicholas (5 June 2014). "Who would be a player-umpire?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ^ Carole Cadwalladr (19 July 2009). "Interview with Preston, former singer with the Ordinary Boys and now launching a solo career". The Observer. UK. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
- ^ "Fifteen minutes with Samuel Preston, singer_guitarist_songwriter with The Ordinary Boys and fan of Morrissey". Julie Hamill. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2014.