Nigel Farndale (born 1964) is a British author and journalist, known for his broadsheet interviews and his bestselling novel ''The Blasphemer''. He has written seven books: four novels, two biographies and a collection of interviews. His latest novel is ''The Dictator's Muse''. ''The Blasphemer'' was shortlisted for the 2010

Costa Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, the ...

and selected for the WH Smith Richard and Judy Bookclub. His biography ''Haw-Haw: The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce'' was published in 2005 and shortlisted for that year's

Whitbread Prize The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

and

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

. As a journalist he has written for various magazines and newspapers including ''

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'', '' Sunday Times'', ''

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'', ''

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'' and '' Spectator''. He is currently a senior editor at ''

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'', a paper for which he also writes columns and interviews. He has won a British Press Award for his interviews and was the joint subject of a programme about interviewing on Radio 4 when he and

Lynn Barber Lynn Barber (born 22 May 1944) is a British journalist who has worked for many publications, including ''The Sunday Times''. Early life Barber attended Lady Eleanor Holles School in south-west London. While she was studying for her A-Levels she ...

compared notes on ''Between Ourselves''. His interview subjects have included

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, Prince Charles,

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, Jimmy Savile and Stephen Hawking. Before becoming a writer, Farndale read philosophy for a master’s degree at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. While there he wrote an acerbic letter to

Auberon Waugh Auberon Alexander Waugh (17 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) was an English journalist and novelist, and eldest son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was widely known by his nickname "Bron". After a traditional classical education at Downsid ...

, who then asked him to write for ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by v ...

''."The season's grievings"
'' Sunday Telegraph'', Nigel Farndale, 31 December 2006 After spells on ''

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'' magazine and '' Country Life'' magazine he moved to the '' Sunday Telegraph'', where he remained for twenty years as a feature writer and columnist. He is married with three sons and lives on the border between Hampshire and Sussex.

Publications

* ''The Dictator's Muse''. London, 2021. * ''The Road Between Us''. London, 2013. * ''The Blasphemer''. London, 2010. * ''Haw-Haw: The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce''. London, 2005. * ''Flirtation, Seduction, Betrayal: Interviews with Heroes and Villains''. London, 2002. * ''Last Action Hero of the British Empire: Commander John Kerans 1915–1985''. London, 2001. * ''A Sympathetic Hanging''. London, 2000. * ''Lives Less Ordinary: Times obituaries of the Eccentric, Unique and Undefinable''. (Editor.) London, 2022.

References

External links

Official website

''Sunday Telegraph''

Journalisted — Articles by Nigel Farndale
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farndale, Nigel British male journalists 1964 births Living people People educated at Barnard Castle School People from Ripon Durham University Graduate Society alumni