John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio broadcasting, radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity conte ...

'' QI'', and is also the

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Quite Interesting Limited Quite Interesting Limited is a British research company, most notable for providing the research for the British television panel game '' QI'' (itself an abbreviation of ''Quite Interesting'') and the Swedish version ''Intresseklubben'', as well ...

. He is co-writer of the ''QI'' series of books with the show's creator John Lloyd. The two men are normally referred to as "The Two Johns" and are seen as the main controllers of ''QI'', as they do most of the research of the show. His most recent work, ''1,411 Quite Interesting Facts to Knock You Sideways'', a collaboration with John Lloyd and James Harkin, was released in 2015 with W.W. Norton and Company. He is cofounder of Unbound, and along with Andy Miller presents Unbound's literature podcast Backlisted ("giving new life to old books").

''QI''

Mitchinson acted as an

associate producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

for the first series. For several years Mitchinson was also director of the "QI Club", which was situated at 16

Turl Street Turl Street is a historic street in central Oxford, England. Location The street is located in the city centre, linking Broad Street at the north and High Street at the south. It intersects with Brasenose Lane to the east, and Market Stre ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Under his management the building consisted of a bookshop, a café-bar and a vodka bar, as well as a number of rooms devoted to use by the private members club.

''QI'' books

After the success of the '' QI'' TV series, Mitchinson co-authored, with ''QI's'' creator John Lloyd, the QI Annuals for 2008 and 2009, as well the main ''QI'' books, these being ''

The Book of General Ignorance ''The Book of General Ignorance'' is the first in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game '' QI'', written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson,

'', ''

The Book of Animal Ignorance ''The Book of Animal Ignorance'' is the second title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game '' QI'', written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson. It is a trivia book, consisting largely of ...

'', '' Advanced Banter: The QI Book of Quotations'', and ''

The QI Book of the Dead ''The QI Book of the Dead'' (sold as ''The Book of the Dead'' in the United States) is the fourth title in a series of books based on the intellectual British panel game '' QI'', written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John M ...

''.

Publishing background

For the ten years before ''QI'', Mitchinson was a book publisher, running

the Harvill Press Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...

Cassell & Co Cassell & Co is a British book publishing house, founded in 1848 by John Cassell (1817–1865), which became in the 1890s an international publishing group company. In 1995, Cassell & Co acquired Pinter Publishers. In December 1998, Cassell & ...

and acting as Deputy Publisher of the

Orion Group Orion Corporation ( fi, Orion Oyj), founded in 1917 and headquartered at Espoo, Finland, is a globally operating Finnish company which develops, manufactures and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients ...

, now the UK’s third largest publisher. Prior to that he spent six years as Marketing Director of

Waterstone’s Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

the booksellers. He is a Vice-President of the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival ( cy, Gŵyl Y Gelli), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, t ...

, a director of Jonathan Burrows contemporary dance group, a Fellow of the RSA and one of Trustees of the London Centre for International Storytelling.

Personal life

Mitchinson lives in the Oxfordshire village of

Great Tew Great Tew is an English village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about north-east of Chipping Norton and south-west of Banbury. The 2011 Census gave a parish population of 156. This qualifies it for an annual parish meeting, not a monthly p ...

, where his spare time spent with his wife and children, raising pigs, chickens, and sheep.

References

External links

*
QI website
The People Behind QI
"Questions for: John Mitchinson"
'' BookBrunch'', 29 June 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchinson, John Alumni of Merton College, Oxford British writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)