Paul David Stenning (born 12 June 1976) is an English author,

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

and poet. He has written twenty-nine books, of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and biography. The best-known of his books is ''The Robert Pattinson Album'', a biography of Robert Pattinson, first published in 2009 and appearing in seven languages since then. According to

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

Stenning has released 30 works in 106 publications in 7 languages.http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-no2005032110/

Early life

Stenning was born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in East Sussex. He had trials with the

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

youth team and wanted to be a footballer or a writer. Stenning's primary school teacher remarked that he would be a writer at the age of four. His family moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

when he was eight years old.Brett Davison Interview, BBC, July 2005. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01g28s9 Stenning attended Urmston Grammar School amongst others, including Bury Church of England High School. He did not attend college or university. Despite early encouragement at school, Stenning is a mostly

autodidactic Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

writer.

Take That and early career

Stenning wrote poetry through his late teens and submitted his first poem in late 1999, which was published as part of an anthology titled ''Magical Memories'', a year later."Live Preston & Fylde magazine", March 2014 During this time he worked for

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...

as assistant to their financial advisor Simon Orange, the brother of

Jason Orange Jason Thomas Orange (born 10 July 1970) is an English former singer and dancer, known for being a member of Take That. He departed from the group in September 2014. Early life Jason Thomas Orange was born on 10 July 1970 in Manchester, Lancashi ...

. During his time working at the office in Cheadle he had an accident where he fell through a roof inside the building and was almost electrocuted. After leaving his work in finance, Stenning worked at the Frog and Bucket comedy club in Manchester. Between 1998 and 2005 Stenning was employed in a Manchester record shop, Vinyl Exchange. He also worked as a DJ, often playing sets before live concerts, particularly before shows at the

Manchester Apollo The O2 Apollo Manchester (known locally as The Apollo and formerly Manchester Apollo) is a concert venue in Ardwick Green, Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building, with a capacity of 3,500 (2,514 standing, 986 seats). History The ...

.BBC Radio 5 Live interview with Dawn Dunlop, December 2015

Periodical Journalism

Stenning has said music was his first love and he wrote music reviews for fun during his teens. In the mid-1990s he submitted reviews to ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' where he soon became a regular contributor. Other music magazines he wrote for included ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'', ''

Metal Maniacs ''Metal Maniacs'' was an American magazine that was based around heavy metal music. History Founded in 1989 by Mike 'G' Greenblatt and Katherine Ludwig of Metal Shop. Where its sister publication ''Metal Edge'' largely covered glam metal, ''Metal ...

'', ''

Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...

'', ''

BraveWords ''Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'' (''BW&BK'') is a Canadian heavy metal magazine. Although based in Toronto, Canada, ''BW&BK'' features writers from the US, Germany and the UK, allowing the magazine to represent metal music from an internationa ...

'', ''

Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm ...

'' and ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

''. He has also written for ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'', ''

Front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

'' and, after moving to Cyprus in 2008, the ''Cyprus Weekly''. He continues to contribute to Record Collector most recently interviewing

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

. Stenning contributed a piece to

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 publis ...

newspaper on the anniversary of

Michael Hutchence Michael Kelland John Hutchence (22 January 1960 – 22 November 1997) was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Hutchence co-founded the rock band INXS, which sold over 75 million records worldwide and was inducted into th ...

's passing.

Ghostwriter and author

Stenning's first book was on

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

, an unofficial biography that was later cited as the most accurate book on the band by guitarist

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

. He also wrote unofficial biographies of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

and

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

. Stenning describes

Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), a ...

and especially the

Friday Rock Show The ''Friday Rock Show'' was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 10pm to midnight on Friday nights, from 17 November 1978 until 2 April 1993. For most of its existence, it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Vance ...

as big influences on his early career. He dedicated his biographies of Iron Maiden and Slash to Vance. He has conducted hundreds of interviews including

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men and ...

Kathy Sledge Kathy Sledge (born January 6, 1959) is an American singer–songwriter and producer. Sledge is best known as the youngest and founding member of Sister Sledge, an American vocal group which is made up of her sisters that formed in 1971. After ach ...

Peter Steele Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Steele, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and composer of the gothic metal band Type O N ...

John Myatt John Myatt, (born 1945), is a British artist convicted of art forgery who, with John Drewe, perpetrated what has been described as "the biggest art fraud of the 20th century". After his conviction, Myatt was able to continue profiting from his f ...

and

Linda Hamilton Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. She played Sarah Connor in the '' Terminator'' film series and Catherine Chandler in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–1990), for which she was nomina ...

. Stenning's interviews often run over the allotted time allowed. He spoke to Peter Steele and

Leslie Easterbrook Leslie Easterbrook is an American actress and producer. She played Sgt./Lt./Capt. Debbie Callahan in the '' Police Academy'' films and Rhonda Lee on the television series '' Laverne & Shirley''. Early life Easterbrook was adopted when she was n ...

for almost 3 hours despite an interview restriction of an hour. Easterbrook told Stenning he asks "great questions". In 2006, Stenning interviewed Steven Adler live onstage at

The Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...

in Liverpool.Devolution magazine interview https://devolutionmagazine.co.uk/ Issue 20, 2009. After working on a biography of Robert Pattinson, Stenning focused on areas beyond music. Since 2009 he has worked primarily as a ghostwriter, working with

Patty Schnyder Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011 is a Swiss reti ...

Jason Newsted Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician who was the bassist of Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He first performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam (band), Flotsam and Jetsam from ...

Frank Abagnale Frank William Abagnale Jr. (; born April 27, 1948) is an American author and convicted felon. Abagnale targeted individuals and small businesses yet gained notoriety in the late 1970s by claiming a diverse range of victimless workplace frauds, m ...

Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...

, Steven Adler,

Adam Dubin Adam C. Dubin (born January 10, 1964) is an American filmmaker who co-directed the Beastie Boys music videos "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" and " No Sleep till Brooklyn" with Ric Menello. "Fight for Your Right" is number three on ...

, U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted Fugitives Jody K Thompson and British champion wrestler Ray Robinson. In 2013 Stenning released ''Success – By Those Who've Made It'', which featured

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

Jörgen Elofsson Kjell Åke Jörgen Elofsson (born 14 January 1962) is a Swedish songwriter. He was one of the writers of the songwriter-team at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm (along with Denniz PoP, Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Andreas Carlsson, Rami Yacoub, ...

Ching He Huang Ching-He Huang (; (born 8 April 1978), often known in English-language merely as Ching, is a Taiwanese-born food writer and TV chef. She has appeared in a variety of television cooking programmes, and is the author of nine best-selling cook ...

Cherie Lunghi Cherie Mary Lunghi (born 4 April 1952) is an English film, television, and theatre actress, known for her roles in many British TV dramas. Her international fame stems from her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film ''Excalibur''. Her long list of ...

Roy 'Chubby' Brown Roy Chubby Brown (born 3 February 1945) is an English stand-up comedian whose act consists of offensive humour, high profanity, forthright social commentary and outspoken disdain for political correctness. Early life Roy Chubby Brown (born ...

Greg Merson Gregory Merson (born December 8, 1987) is an American professional poker player. Merson is best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2012 World Series of Poker (WSOP). During the same year, he also won a WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Six ...

Susan Polgar Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

Phil Gallagher Phil Gallagher is a British children's television presenter who is best known for playing the title character in the CBeebies children's television show ''Mister Maker''. Early life Gallagher attended Rainham Mark Grammar School in Rainh ...

aka

Mister Maker ''Mister Maker'' is a British children's television series produced by RDF Media (Series 1)/The Foundation (Series 2-3) for CBeebies. The series ran from September 2007 until December 2009, with 60 episodes produced within three series. Mister M ...

and

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decline of ...

Anne Wafula Strike Anne Wafula Strike MBE (born 8 May 1969) is a Harlow-based British Paralympic wheelchair racer. Wafula Strike was born in Mihuu in Bungoma, Kenya, and contracted polio at the age of two, resulting in a later Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital ...

was the last personal biography featured in the book, which Stenning explained was because her story was the most powerful and the greatest example of success. After the book was released, Stenning gave talks on success at corporate events, festivals and schools. He is working on biographies of

Archbishop Makarios III Makarios III ( el, Μακάριος Γ΄; born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos) (Greek: Μιχαήλ Χριστοδούλου Μούσκος) (13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Cypriot politician, archbishop and primate who served as ...

and

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

, which he considers "labours of love". In 2011 he met

Margaret Nolan Margaret Ann Nolan (29 October 1943 – 5 October 2020) was an English actress, visual artist and glamour model. She appeared in '' Goldfinger'', '' A Hard Day's Night'' and six '' Carry On'' films, and also regularly appeared on screen from t ...

who was thinking of writing her memoir. Stenning's books have been released in multiple languages with several titles in Bulgarian, Polish and Portuguese. Since 2018 he has served as the official poet for the tourist board of

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

Personal life

Stenning has a wife and daughter. He travels around the world to ghostwrite and is based in the United States and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Stenning has been a campaigner for

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

since his teens and is a vegetarian. He is a fan of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He released a podcast on the TV series

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

in July 2021.

Bibliography

As official biographer or co-writer

*''The White Mile'' (with

Patty Schnyder Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011 is a Swiss reti ...

, 2011) *''Nine Lives'' (with David S Gill, 2011) *''Ray Robinson – The Sheriff – My life fighting wrestlers, boxers, villains and cancer'' (Foreword by John H. Stracey, 2013) *''Success – By Those Who've Made It'' (with

DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American disc jockey (DJ) and music producer. He was a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with Will Smith. He is credited, alo ...

Gregory Olsen Gregory Hammond Olsen (born April 20, 1945) is an American entrepreneur, engineer and scientist who, in October 2005, became the third private citizen to make a self-funded trip to the International Space Station with the company Space Adventure ...

Tom Kerridge Thomas Kerridge (born 27 July 1973) is an English chef. After initially appearing in several small television parts as a child actor, he decided to attend culinary school at the age of 18. He has since worked at a variety of British restaurants, ...

, 2013) *''Mark Gardiner – The Good, The Bad and The Lottery'' (2017) *''Antarctica – The Impossible Crossing?'' (with Geoff Somers MBE; forewords by Sir

Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

and Sir

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, w ...

, 2018)

As writer

*''The Band That Time Forgot'' (history of

, with foreword by Steven Adler, 2004) *''Maximum Rasmus'' (history of the band on audio CD, 2004) *''AC/DC: Two Sides To Every Glory'' (history of

, 2005) *''Maximum

Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...

'' (history of the band on audio CD, 2005) *''My Chemical Romance: Something Incredible This Way Comes'', (history of

, 2006) *''Iron Maiden: 30 Years of the Beast'' (history of

, 2006) *''Slash: Surviving Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver And Rock’s Snakepit'', (biography of

, 2007) *''Thrash Metal – A Seemingly Endless Time'', (History of the genre, featuring contributions from

Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...

Mille Petrozza Miland "Mille" Petrozza (born 18 December 1967) is a German guitarist and singer of Italian descent. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of thrash metal band Kreator, which he started playing in as Tyrant in 1982 and ...

Martin Walkyier Martin Walkyier (born 20 September 1967) is an English singer, known for his participation in the heavy metal bands Sabbat and Skyclad.Detlef Dengler: ''Martin Walkyier''. In: ''Metal Hammer'', February 2009, p. 129. The late ''Metal Hammer'' j ...

Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (2004–2009), and '' This is Wonderland'' ...

, 2007) *''Robert Plant: Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page and the Solo Years'', 2008 *''Rage Against the Machine: Stage Fighters'' (history of

, 2008) *''The Robert Pattinson Album'', (biography of Robert Pattinson, 2009) *''Waste Of Money! Overspending in Football – A Tragic Loss to the Beautiful Game'', (Focus on

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and other football finances, 2010) *''Metallica: All That Matters'', (history of

2010) *''Success – By Those Who've Made It'' (2013)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenning, Paul 1976 births 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English poets 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English poets English biographers English expatriates in Cyprus English expatriates in the United States Ghostwriters Living people People educated at Urmston Grammar People from Brighton Writers from Manchester