Terence Blacker

{{Short description|English songwriter, author and columnist (born 1948)}}

{{Infobox person

| name =

| honorific_suffix = FRSL

| image = Portrait Ter 137A.jpg

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| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|5 February 1948|df=y}}

| birth_place = near Hadleigh, Suffolk, England

| death_date =

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| nationality =

| other_names =

| parents = Cecil Blacker (father)

| relatives = Philip Blacker (brother)

| spouse = Caroline Soper, m. 1975, div. 2001

| occupation = Songwriter, author and columnist

| education = Wellington College
Trinity College, Cambridge

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

}}

Terence Blacker {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRSL}} (born 5 February 1948) is an English songwriter, author and columnist.{{cite web|title=Open Directory – Arts: Literature: Authors: B: Blacker,_Terence |publisher=Open Directory Project |url=http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Authors/B/Blacker,_Terence/desc.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211140330/http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Literature/Authors/B/Blacker,_Terence/desc.html |archive-date=11 February 2008 |access-date=21 February 2008 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|title=East Anglian Writers: Terence Blacker |publisher=East Anglian Writers |url=http://www.eastanglianwriters.org.uk/profiles/TerenceBlacker.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210172255/http://www.eastanglianwriters.org.uk/profiles/TerenceBlacker.htm |archive-date=10 February 2008 |access-date=21 February 2008 |url-status=dead }}

Early life and education

Blacker was born near Hadleigh, Suffolk. He is the son of General Sir Cecil Blacker, and the brother of sculptor and former jockey Philip Blacker.

He grew up on the family farm in Suffolk. He attended Hawtreys preparatory school and Wellington College, before reading English at Trinity College, Cambridge, whence he graduated in 1969.

Life and work

Blacker began his working life in horse-racing and as an amateur jockey.

{{cite web|last=Blacker |first=Terence |title=Terence Blacker Questions & Answers |publisher=Writers Online |year=2001 |url=http://www.englishonline.co.uk/writers/other/blacker2.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222064822/http://www.englishonline.co.uk/writers/other/blacker2.html |archivedate=22 February 2008 |accessdate=21 February 2008 |url-status=dead }} Subsequently, he worked in publishing for 10 years during the 1970s and 1980s, where he was responsible for overseeing the publication of works by Jerzy Kosinski.{{cite news|last=Blacker |first=Terence |title=Plagiarism? Let's just call it postmodernism |newspaper=The Independent|location=London |date=17 June 2002 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20020617/ai_n12627315 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214090342/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20020617/ai_n12627315 |archivedate=14 February 2008 |access-date=21 February 2008 |url-status=dead }}

Blacker became a full-time writer in 1983 and has written children's books and mysteries for adults. His first children's book, If I Could Work, was published in 1987 and his first adult novel, FIXX, won critical acclaim and was described by The Guardian as a "tour de force". He is an active member of English PEN, and is also an EAW member.

He writes the "Endpaper" for The Author. For many years, he wrote the "Harvey Porlock" column in The Sunday Times, as well as a column about the book business for Publishing News.

His regular writing for The Independent, newspaper, usually consisting of twice-weekly columns, came to an end in December 2013 after nearly 16 years.Blacker, Terence (16 December 2013), [https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/by-all-means-prepare-for-old-age-but-dont-forget-to-live-in-the-present-9008608.html "By all means 'prepare' for old age. But don’t forget to live in the present"], The Independent.

Blacker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2017.Onwuemezi, Natasha, [http://www.thebookseller.com/news/syal-and-mcdermid-named-new-rsl-fellows-564396 "Rankin, McDermid and Levy named new RSL fellows"], The Bookseller, 7 June 2017.{{cite web | url=https://rsliterature.org/fellows/current-fellows/ | title=Current RSL Fellows | publisher=Royal Society of Literature | access-date=11 June 2017 | archive-date=6 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206015823/https://rsliterature.org/fellows/current-fellows/ | url-status=dead }}

Personal life

In 1975 he married Caroline Soper, youngest daughter of the radical Methodist minister Donald Soper (div. 2001). They have two children, Xan and Alice. Blacker's partner is now Angela Sykes.{{cite web|title=Terence Blacker official website|url=http://www.terenceblacker.com/profile.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022231743/http://www.terenceblacker.com/profile.html|archive-date=22 October 2012}}

Publications

Adult books
Fixx (Bloomsbury, 1989), {{ISBN|0-7475-0270-6}}
The Fame Hotel (Bloomsbury, 1992), {{ISBN|0-7475-1244-2}}
Revenance (Bloomsbury, 1996), {{ISBN|0-7475-2436-X}}
Kill Your Darlings (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000), {{ISBN|0-297-64658-3}}
You Cannot Live as I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This: The Thoroughly Disgraceful Life and Times of Willie Donaldson (Ebury, 2007), {{ISBN|978-0-09-191386-1}}

Children's books
Girl Power by Blacker
Neil's Book of the Dead by Blacker, Nigel Planer (Pavilion, 1984), {{ISBN|0-907516-53-X}}
Henry and the Frights (Piccadilly, 1989), {{ISBN|0-946826-99-4}}
Houdini, the Disappearing Hamster (Andersen, 1990), {{ISBN|0-86264-250-7}}
Herbie Hamster, Where Are You? by Blacker, Pippa Unwin (Random House Children's Books, 1990), {{ISBN|0-679-80838-8}}
The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Hodder Children's Books, 1990), {{ISBN|0-340-51261-X}}
If I Could Work (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1991), {{ISBN|0-517-07121-5}}
Homebird (Piccadilly, 1991), {{ISBN|1-85340-116-1}}; (Prentice Hall & IBD, 1993 {{ISBN|0-02-710685-3}})
Nasty Neighbours / Nice Neighbours (Macmillan Children's Books, 1992), {{ISBN|0-333-54675-X}}
The Transfer (Macmillan Children's Books, 1998), {{ISBN|0-333-68970-4}}
The Angel Factory (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2002), {{ISBN|0-333-90072-3}}
You Have Ghost Mail (Macmillan Children's Books, 2002), {{ISBN|0-333-96001-7}}
Boy2girl (Macmillan Children's Books, 2004), {{ISBN|0-330-42121-2}}
Tinseltown (Macmillan Children's Books, January 2005), {{ISBN|1-4050-5707-6}}
Parentswap (Farrar Straus Giroux, August 2006), {{ISBN|0-374-35752-8}}
Missing, Believed Crazy (Macmillan Children's, July 2009), {{ISBN|0-330-45848-5}}

Ms Wiz series
Ms Wiz Spells Trouble (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60766-X}}; (Piccadilly, 1988), {{ISBN|1-85340-022-X}}
In Stitches with Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60767-8}}; (Piccadilly, 1989 {{ISBN|1-85340-044-0}})
You're Nicked, Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60768-6}}; (Piccadilly, 1989 {{ISBN|1-85340-051-3}})
In Control, Ms Wiz? (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60769-4}}; (Piccadilly, 1990 {{ISBN|1-85340-061-0}})
Ms Wiz Goes Live (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60770-8}} (Piccadilly, 1990 {{ISBN|1-85340-073-4}})
Ms Wiz Banned! (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60771-6}}; (Piccadilly, 1990 {{ISBN|1-85340-092-0}})
Time Flies for Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60772-4}}; (Piccadilly, 1992 {{ISBN|1-85340-181-1}})
Power-crazy Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60773-2}}; (Piccadilly, 1992 {{ISBN|1-85340-177-3}})
Ms Wiz Loves Dracula (Macmillan Children's Books, 1993), {{ISBN|0-333-60774-0}}; (Piccadilly, 1993 {{ISBN|1-85340-250-8}})
You're Kidding Me, Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 1996), {{ISBN|0-333-67103-1}}
Ms Wiz Supermodel (Macmillan Children's Books, 1997), {{ISBN|0-333-71117-3}}
Ms Wiz Smells a Rat (Macmillan Children's Books, 1998), {{ISBN|0-333-73734-2}}
Ms Wiz and the Sister of Doom (Macmillan Children's Books, 1999), {{ISBN|0-333-76161-8}}
Ms Wiz Goes to Hollywood (Macmillan Children's Books, 2000), {{ISBN|0-333-90175-4}}
Ms Wiz: Millionaire (Macmillan Children's Books, 2001), {{ISBN|0-333-94794-0}}
The Secret Life of Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 2002), {{ISBN|0-333-99460-4}}
The Crazy World of Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 2004), {{ISBN|0-330-43136-6}}
Ms Wiz Superstar (Macmillan Children's Books, 2004), {{ISBN|0-330-43406-3}}
Ms Wiz Mayhem (Macmillan Children's Books, 2006), {{ISBN|978-0-330-44287-9}}
Totally Spaced, Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 2008), {{ISBN|978-1-84270-702-9}}
Fangtastic, Ms Wiz Mayhem (Macmillan Children's Books, 2008), {{ISBN|978-1-84270-703-6}}
Out of Control, Ms Wiz (Macmillan Children's Books, 2009), {{ISBN|978-1-84270-847-7}}

References

External links

[http://www.terenceblacker.com TerenceBlacker.com] Official website featuring his books for adults and children, latest articles, blogs and news.
[https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/terence-blacker/ Column archive] at The Independent
[http://journalisted.com/terence-blacker Terence Blacker] at Journalisted
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080222064822/http://www.englishonline.co.uk/writers/other/blacker2.html Terence Blacker Questions & Answers] from Writers OnlineRegional/Europe/United_Kingdom/News_and_Media/Columnists/Blacker,_Terence

Category:1948 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century English male writers

Category:20th-century English novelists

Category:21st-century English male writers

Category:21st-century English novelists

Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge

Category:English children's writers

Category:English columnists

Category:English male non-fiction writers

Category:English male novelists

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature