Tom Hodgkinson (born 1968) is a British writer and the editor of ''
The Idler'' magazine, which he established in 1993 with his friend
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
Gavin Edmund Pretor-Pinney is a British author, known for his books ''The Cloudspotter's Guide'' and ''The Wavewatcher's Companion''.
Early life and education
Pretor-Pinney is son of Anthony Robert Edmund Pretor-Pinney and Laura Uppercu, daughte ...
. His philosophy, in his published books and articles, is of a
relaxed approach to life, enjoying it as it comes rather than
toiling for an imagined better future. ''
The Idler'' was named after a series of essays written by
Dr Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...
from 1758 to 1760.
Biography
Tom Hodgkinson was born in
Newcastle, England. He is the brother of journalist and author
Will Hodgkinson
Will Hodgkinson is a journalist and author from London (born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne), England. He is the chief rock and pop critic for ''The Times'' newspaper and contributes to ''Mojo'' magazine. He has written for ''The Guardian'', ''The Indepen ...
; their father is the science and medical writer Neville Hodgkinson and their mother is the prolific non-fiction writer and journalist
Liz Hodgkinson.
Tom was educated at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
and
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
, during which time he played the bass guitar in the
Stupids-influenced thrash band Chopper. He lived in
North Devon until 2013. He currently lives in London.
In the early 1990s, he worked at a
Rough Trade Records shop in London, where he had the idea for ''The Idler''. In the late 1990s he became an importer of
absinthe.
From 1995 to 1997 he was Joint Head of Creative Development at Guardian Newspapers, where he worked for Carolyn McCall and Alan Rusbridger.
From 1997 to 2002 he and Gavin Pretor-Pinney ran Idle Industries, a creative consultancy with clients such as
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
, ''
the Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Sony PlayStation, ad agency Mother, Paramount TV and Oakley. The pair launched the ''Crap Towns'' series of books.
Hodgkinson has contributed articles to ''
The Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings.
It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' and ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'' as well as being the author of the ''Idler'' spin-offs, ''How To Be Idle'', ''How To Be Free'' and ''
The Idle Parent''.
''How to Be Idle'' has been translated into 25 languages and was a best-seller in the UK, US, Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic.
In 2006 he created National Unawareness Day, to be celebrated on 1 November.
In March 2011 he and his partner Victoria Hull launched The Idler Academy in London, a school running courses in philosophy, public speaking, grammar,
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
, singing, drawing, calligraphy, astronomy, foraging, bread baking,
bartitsu and small business.
In April 2013 he launched the Idler Academy Bad Grammar Award, and in September 2013 he launched the Ukulele Player of the Year competition. Bloomsbury UK and Bloomsbury US published his and Gavin's book, ''The Ukulele Handbook''.
Bibliography
*''
The Idler'' (periodical: 1993–present)
*''How To Be Idle'' (2005)
*''How To Be Free'' (2006)
:*Republished as ''The Freedom Manifesto'' (US Release, 2007)
*''The Idle Parent'' (2009)
*''The Book of Idle Pleasures'' (May 2010; co-edited with
Dan Kieran)
*''Brave Old World'' (2011)
:*Republished as ''How to Live in the Country'' (2021)
*''The Ukulele Handbook'' (September 2013; co-written with
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson ...
)
*''Business for Bohemians'' (2017)
*''The Idler's Manual'' (2021)
See also
*
Simple living
References
External links
''The Idler'' WebsiteHow To Be Idle
at WikiSummaries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgkinson, Tom
Living people
People educated at Westminster School, London
Writers from Newcastle upon Tyne
Critics of work and the work ethic
Simple living advocates
1968 births