Paul Finch is an English

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

. He began his writing career on the British television programme ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

''. His early scripts were for children's

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

. He has written over 300 short stories which have appeared in magazines, such as the ''All Hallows'', the magazine of the

Ghost Story Society The Ghost Story Society was a not-for-profit literary society whose members shared an interest in supernatural fiction. Founded in Britain in 1988 by Rosemary Pardoe, Jeffrey Dempsey, David Cowperthwaite and Mark Valentine, it had an international ...

and ''

Black Static ''Black Static'', formerly ''The 3rd Alternative'', is a British horror magazine edited by Andy Cox. The magazine has won the British Fantasy Award for "Best Magazine" while individual stories have won other awards. In addition, numerous stories ...

''. He also edits anthologies of Horror stories with the overall title of ''Terror Tales''. He has written variously for the books and other spin-offs from ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

.'' He is the author of the ongoing series of DS Mark ''Heck'' Heckenberg novels.

Early life and education

Finch is the son of British television scriptwriter and dramatist

Brian Finch Brian Finch (25 July 1936 – 27 June 2007) was a British television scriptwriter and dramatist. His longest relationship was with the ITV1 soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', for which he wrote 150 scripts between 1970 and 1989. He also helped th ...

. He was a police officer with the

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

until 1988 and later a journalist.

Children's animation

In 1998 Finch wrote one episode of ''Little Hippo: Hippos Ahoy'' and one episode of ''

Fix and Foxi ''Fix und Foxi'' was a weekly German comics magazine created by Rolf Kauka, which ran uninterrupted from 1953 until 1994. Re-christened ''Fix & Foxi'', it was relaunched as a monthly magazine in 2000, 2005 and 2010 respectively. Since the end of 2 ...

: A Knight to Rembember'' for Siriol Productions. In 2002 he worked on fifty 6½ minute episodes of an animated TV series for children called ''Nora and the Magic Tree'' for Hogg's Back Films.

Film

Finch wrote additional material for the 2005 film ''

Spirit Trap ''Spirit Trap'' is a 2005 British thriller horror film directed by Marcus Randall and starring Billie Piper. While the story is set in London, the film was shot in Bucharest, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at t ...

'' and co-wrote the 2011 film ''

The Devil's Rock ''The Devil's Rock'' is a 2011 New Zealand horror film produced by Leanne Saunders, directed by Paul Campion, written by Campion, Paul Finch, and Brett Ihaka, and starring Craig Hall, Matthew Sunderland, Gina Varela, and Karlos Drinkwater. ...

'' with Paul Campion and Brett Ihaka. Finch wrote the screenplay for ''War Wolf'', which is in

pre-production Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the content starts ...

at Amber Entertainment, with Paul Campion attached to direct.

''Doctor Who''

*"Spoil Sport" - story in '' Short Trips: Destination Prague'', published in 2007 in the series Big Finish ''Short Trips'', featuring the

Third Doctor The Third Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord fro ...

and

Jo Grant Josephine "Jo" Grant, later Jo Jones, is a fictional character played by Katy Manning in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Jo was introduced by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks in the first episode of ''Do ...

. The story is set in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. *

Leviathan (audio drama) ''Doctor Who: The Lost Stories'' is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish Productions of ''Doctor Who'' audio plays adapted from List of unmade Doctor Who serials and films, unused TV stories. Episodes Series 1 (2009–10) The first series ...

- this story was originally written by his father,

. The script was initially for

season 22 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''Doctor Who''. Paul Finch adapted it for a

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

audio in 2010 for '' Doctor Who: The Lost Stories''. It features the

Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual time on the series was comparatively brief and turbulent, Ba ...

and

Peri Brown Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An American botany major from Pasadena, California, Peri is a companion of the Fifth ...

and concerns

Herne the Hunter In English folklore, Herne the Hunter is a ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. He is said to have antlers growing from his head, ride a horse, torment cattle, and rattle chains. The earliest m ...

. *

Hexagora ''Doctor Who: The Lost Stories'' is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish Productions of ''Doctor Who'' audio plays adapted from unused TV stories. Episodes Series 1 (2009–10) The first series is largely adapted from stories planned for ...

- another '' Doctor Who: The Lost Stories'' audio drama from Big Finish Productions in 2011. This features the

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from t ...

Tegan Jovanka Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth ...

and Nyssa. * The Sentinels of the New Dawn - a Companions Chronicles audio drama from Big Finish Productions in 2011. This features the

and

Liz Shaw Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw is a fictional character played by Caroline John in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs. A civilian member of UNIT, an international organisation that defends Earth fro ...

. This story is a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

to ''

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

'', which was written by his father Brian Finch. * '' Hunter's Moon'' - this is a novel featuring the

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Docto ...

Amy Pond Amelia "Amy" Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Amy is a companion (Doctor Who), companion of the series protagonis ...

and

Rory Williams Rory Williams is a fictional character portrayed by Arthur Darvill in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Having been introduced at the start of the fifth series, Rory joins the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) ...

. (

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasti ...

2011, ) * "Strangers in the Outland" - a story in ''Doctor Who: Tales of Trenzalore: The

's Last Stand'' (BBC Books 2014, ) Boys King Arthur - N

Abaddon Books

Paul Finch writes for

Abaddon Books Abaddon Books is a British publishing imprint, founded in 2006. It is part of the Rebellion group of companies, along with publishing companies Solaris Books, ''2000 AD'', 2000 AD Graphic Novels, and Cubicle 7. Abaddon publishes "shared worl ...

who publish a number of books with similar themes or in a

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

. * ''Stronghold'' is in the ''Tomes of the Dead'' series, with the linked theme of

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

; each book has an unusual twist on the theme. This story is set in

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, where

druids A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

summon an army of the

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...

to attack the stronghold of the title. (2010, ) * ''Dark North'' is in the ''Malory's Knights of Albion'' series about the knights of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. The stories come from a fictional sequel to

Thomas Malory Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of '' Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of '' Le Morte d' ...

's ''

Le Morte d'Arthur ' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...

.'' (2012, )

"Heck" novels

* 1. ''Stalkers'' (

Avon Books Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reach ...

2013) * 2. ''Sacrifice'' (Avon Books 2013) * 3. ''The Killing Club'' (Avon Books 2014) * 4. ''Dead Man Walking'' (Avon Books 2014) * 5. ''Hunted'' (Avon Books 2015) * 6. ''Ashes to Ashes'' (Avon Books 2017) * 7. ''Kiss of Death'' (Avon Books 2018) Detective Sergeant Mark Heckenberg, or "Heck", is a British Police Officer and a member of the fictional National Crime Group based at

New Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

. The other constant character in the series is his immediate superior Detective Superintendent Gemma Piper, with whom he has an on and off romantic relationship. In the first book - ''Stalkers'' - they investigate the "Nice Guys Club"; a highly secretive organised crime group that provide highly unpleasant sexual services to the very rich. ''Stalkers'' became a number one e-book bestseller, selling almost 150,000 copies across e-book and paperback. The second book - ''Sacrifice'' - concerns a group that is killing people in a highly graphic way on particular days of the year, such as being burned alive on

Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the ev ...

. ''Sacrifice'' was the most pre-ordered ebook in

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

’ history, with more than 12,825 pre-orders. Buttermere - geograph

The third book in the series was to have been ''Hunted'' and the first two chapters of this appear at the end of ''Sacrifice''. However Paul Finch's publishers Avon Books wanted the return of the "Nice Guys Club" sooner than he had intended. Accordingly, they do in ''The Killing Club''. At the end of this book Heck transfers out of the National Crime Squad. The fourth book in the series is now ''Dead Man Walking'', which is now followed by ''Hunted''. ''Dead Man Walking'' is set in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

. The books are published as eBooks and paperback originals by Avon Books. In 2014 '' The Sun'' newspaper gave away free eBooks of ''Stalkers'' to its readers. The first 6 chapters of ''The Killing Club'' were made available free to download onto

Amazon Kindle Amazon Kindle is a series of e-readers designed and marketed by Amazon. Amazon Kindle devices enable users to browse, buy, download, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines and other digital media via wireless networking to the Kindle Store. ...

Lucy Clayburn novels

* 1. ''Strangers'' (Avon Books, 2016). * 2. ''Shadows'' (Avon Books, 2017). * 3. ''Stolen'' (Avon Books, 2019), The title character in the Lucy Clayburn series is an efficient detective, promoted from the uniformed constabulary of the Greater Manchester Police, who struggles to overcome the twin burdens of having once made a life-threatening mistake and the knowledge that her estranged father is a vicious gangster.

Awards and nominations

* Nomination: 2000

British Fantasy Award The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of S ...

''Ordeals, Inc.'' Best Short Fiction * Nomination: 2001 British Fantasy Award ''The Day After the Day the War Ended'' Best Short Fiction * Nomination: 2001 British Fantasy Award ''The Wayside Woods'' Best Short Fiction * Win: 2002 British Fantasy Award ''After Shocks'' Best Collection

Ash Tree Press Ash-Tree Press is a Canadian company that publishes supernatural and horror literature. The press has reprinted notable collections of ghostly stories by such writers as R. H. Malden, A. N. L. Munby, L. T. C. Rolt, Margery Lawrence, and El ...

* Nomination: 2002 Bram Stoker Awards ''Cape Wrath'' for Best Long Fiction

Telos Publishing Telos Publishing Ltd. is a publishing company, originally established by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker, with their first publication being a horror anthology based on the television series '' Urban Gothic'' in 2001. The name comes from ...

* Nomination: 2002 Bram Stoker Awards ''Long Meg and Her Daughters'' Superior Achievement in Long Fiction * Nomination: 2003 British Fantasy Award ''Cape Wrath'' Best Short Fiction Telos Publishing * Win: 2006

International Horror Guild Award The International Horror Guild Award (also known as the IHG Award) was an accolade recognizing excellence in the field of Horror fiction, horror/dark fantasy, presented by the International Horror Guild (IHG) from 1995 to 2008. The IHG Awards wer ...

''The Old North Road'' Best Mid-length Fiction * Win: 2007 British Fantasy Award ''Kid'' Best Novella * Nomination: 2007 International Horror Guild Award ''The Tank'' Best Short Form * Nomination: 2011 British Fantasy Award ''Sparrowhawk: A Victorian Ghost Story'' Best Novella

Pendragon Press There are five unrelated publishers with the name Pendragon Press. The first is a British small press based in Maesteg in Wales and specialising in science fiction, fantasy, horror and weird fiction. It is run by Christopher Teague. In 2005 t ...

* Nomination: 2011 British Fantasy Award ''Walkers in the Dark'' Best Collection Ash Tree Press * Nomination: 2011 British Fantasy Award ''One Monster Is Not Enough'' Best Collection Grey Friar Press

Critical reception

John Pelan John C. Pelan (July 19, 1957 – April 12, 2021) was an American author, editor and publisher in the small press science-fiction, weird and horror fiction genres. He first founded Axolotl Press in 1986 and published several volumes by authors su ...

in a review of ''After Shocks'' said, "I'll go out on a bit of a limb here and say that I think that Finch owes far more to Sheridan Le Fanu than to M R James. A main strength of Finch's work is his deft portrayal of classic supernatural creatures of myth such as the pooka, goblins and dandy dogs, and the incorporation of local legends and mythology was one that certainly served Le Fanu well." Dan Howarth in his review of ''Sparrowhawk'' for the website ''This Is Horror'' said, "One of the principal triumphs of Sparrowhawk is how the story captures the sense of Christmas. The images of deep snow drifts and produce on display in the markets are brilliantly festive, yet Finch still manages to create a sense of terror that holds true to the Victorian spirit of the Christmas ghost story. The scares in the book are sharp and perfectly accentuate a measured and believably atmosphere of dread." David Marshall wrote about ''Dark North,'' "The chase away from the battlefield and into the foothills of

the Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

is a magnificently sustained piece of writing."

Personal life

Finch and his wife Catherine live in

Standish, Greater Manchester Standish is a small town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is on the A49 road between Chorley and Wigan, near Junction 27 of the M6 motorway. The p ...

; he has two children, Eleanor and Harry.

References

External links

Paul Finch's blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Paul Crime novelists Living people People from Wigan English screenwriters English male screenwriters English horror writers English male novelists Year of birth missing (living people)