Brian Viner (born 25 October 1961,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) is an English journalist and author. Viner was born to an unmarried mother at the now demolished

Royal Northern Hospital The Royal Northern Hospital was a general hospital on Holloway Road, London N7, near Tollington Way. It had inpatient, outpatient, accident and emergency facilities and was also a centre for postgraduate education. History The hospital was foun ...

, London, and was adopted by a couple in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

when a few weeks old. He met his birth parents for the first time in the 1990s. He was educated at King George V School, Southport, then at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. In 1985/6 he was a Robert T Jones Memorial Scholar at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1994 to 1999 Viner wrote for the ''

Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...

''. In 1997 he won a ''

What the Papers Say ''What The Papers Say'' is a British radio and television series. It consists of quotations from headlines and comment pages in the previous week's newspapers, read in a variety of voices and accents by actors. The quotes are linked by a scri ...

'' Award for his work as the paper's television critic. He was a columnist on ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' from January 1999 to December 2011, and then turned freelance, writing for numerous national newspapers, including the '' Daily Mail'', ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...

'', the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'', ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' and the '' Sunday Express''. At ''The Independent'', he was principally a sports writer, and "The Brian Viner Interview" with a well-known sporting figure became the longest-running weekly interview in British newspaper journalism. He has been shortlisted multiple times as Interviewer of the Year in the British Press Awards and the Sports Journalism Awards. In October 2013, Viner became film critic of the ''Daily Mail'', succeeding Christopher Tookey. He is the author of seven books, all non-fiction, with an eighth due to be published by Constable in 2022. Provisionally titled Frank & Fearless, it is a ghosted autobiography of the boxing promoter Frank Warren. Viner's most recently published book, "Looking For The Toffees", is an account of his teen years following Everton FC, in which he goes in search of his childhood heroes. Prior to that, he wrote ''The Good, The Dad and The Ugly: The Trials of Fatherhood'', published in May 2013. Of his earlier books, ''Tales of the Country'' and its sequel ''The Pheasants' Revolt'' recount the story of his, and his family's, move from

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

. ''Ali, Pele, Lillee & Me: A Personal Odyssey Through the Sporting Seventies'' recalls his childhood as a sports enthusiast,BOOK REVIEW: LIFE WITH SPORTING ICONS OF THE 70S
", iomtoday.co.im, 12 April 2007, retrieved 2011-11-12 and ''Nice To See It, To See It Nice: The Seventies in Front of the Telly'' is similarly a memoir, but about

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

. His book ''Cream Teas, Traffic Jams and Sunburn: The Great British Holiday'' was voted Travel Book of the Year in The 2011 British Travel Press Awards. In 2010 ''Tales of the Country'' was adapted for the stage by the Pentabus Theatre Company.Bringing townies’ rural dream to life
", ''Hereford Times'', 8 April 2010, retrieved 2011-11-12 He is married to the novelist Jane Sanderson; the couple have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viner, Brian 1961 births Alumni of the University of St Andrews Emory University faculty English adoptees English male journalists Living people People from Southport The Independent people