Susan Quilliam (born 1950 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

) is a British relationship expert who specialises in love and sexuality. She works as an advice columnist, writer, broadcaster, consultant, trainer and coach. Quilliam is associated with several relationship organisations, including Relate and the

Family Planning Association FPA (Family Planning Association) was a UK registered charity (number 250187) working to enable people to make informed choices about sex and to enjoy sexual health. It was the national affiliate for the International Planned Parenthood Federat ...

, and is the author of 22 books published in 33 countries and 24 languages. She revised ''

The Joy of Sex ''The Joy of Sex'' is a 1972 illustrated sex manual by British author Alex Comfort. An updated edition was released in September 2008. Overview ''The Joy of Sex'' spent eleven weeks at the top of the ''New York Times'' bestseller list and more ...

'' (2008) for modern sensibilities.

Early life, education and career

Born in

in 1950, Quilliam gained her Psychology degree (BA honors Social studies) at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in 1971 followed by a PGCE at Christ's College of Education in 1972. She then taught English and Personal, Health and Social Education (PSHE) in secondary and further education between 1972 and 1979 before moving to London to work in educational publishing until 1983. In 1983 she established Jonquil Publishing (later The Chalkface Project), a publishing company specialising in Personal and Social Education, whilst concurrently working freelance as a writer on relationships and sexuality. This later part of her career developed through advice-giving work as an agony aunt to various publications including ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

'', which brought a high level media profile.

Later public career

Quilliam has been the sex and relationship advice columnist for Fabulous magazine, a Sunday supplement of ''The Sun'', as well as resident psychologist answering patient questions for the Sexual Advice Association website. Quilliam came to attention in both the US and UK for her rewriting of the manual ''

'' in 2008. Originally published in 1972, she reworked

Alex Comfort Alexander Comfort (10 February 1920 – 26 March 2000) was a British scientist and physician known best for his nonfiction sex manual, ''The Joy of Sex'' (1972). He was an author of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as a gerontologist ...

's book for a better male/female balance. She has in addition written 22 books on love and sex published in 30 counties and 21 languages; three of her books have been written for Relate and The Samaritans, with whom she works closely. From 2003 to 2015 she was consumer correspondent columnist for, and a member of the Editorial Board of, the ''Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health'' Care. She is currently a Member of the Council for Sexuality and Sexual Health of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...

. Quilliam from 2008 to 2010, co-presented a weekly radio programme, ''Sex in the City'' with Jim Davis on LBC 97.3. She has run workshops on relationships and intimacy and is on the London faculty of

The School of Life The School of Life is an educational company that offers advice on life issues. It was founded in 2008 and has branches in London (headquarters), Amsterdam, Berlin, Istanbul, Paris, São Paulo, and Taipei. The company offers a variety of educ ...

, and has spoken several times at the

on the links between relationships and health. She was shortlisted for the

's Rosemary Goodchild Award for excellence in journalism, and has served as a judge for this award.

References

External links

Susan Quilliam's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quilliam, Susan 1950 births Living people British advice columnists British sex columnists British women columnists Writers from Liverpool The School of Life people