About the author
Martin Gurdon is an author and freelance news and features journalist and columnist, specialising in motoring but writing about a wide variety of subjects. He contributes to the Sunday Telegraph, Evening Standard and Classic Cars, where he's a columnist.
Martin is also the 'token bloke' columnist for the Women's Institutes' WI Life magazine, and has contributed to Saga magazine amongst other outlets.
He also writes for the trade press, latterly contributing to titles including Motor Trader, Harpers and Independent Retail News.
He's developed an almost accidental sideline in books about sex, death and domestic fowl. The first, 'Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance,' is now in its third reprint. The follow up, 'Travels with My Chicken,' went on sale last year. Martin has also written 'Fowl!' and 'Hope is a Strategy,' both parodies of American business motivational tracts. 'Write On!' a book on writing from a journalist's perspective, has just been published.
Martin undertakes a mix of work-from-home commissions and on site projects, regularly provides journalistic holiday cover and although not Quark trained can navigate his way round the system, and has a lot of experience as a commissioning editor and raw copy sub.
Thanks to promoting 'Hen, etc,' Martin found himself on the road with a chicken, which is just about as weird as it sounds. This led to his making about 250 appearances at clubs, associations and rural WIs (which is how he became a WI Life columnist) and has bookings until late 2010. The talk is also starting to find favour as a left field after dinner turn.
Current Projects
- Martin and photographer Eleanor Bentall publish their first children's book, 'What is the Perfect Pong?' See www.perfectpong.co.uk.
- Telegraph Motoring's car agony uncle, Honest John, has recruited Martin to make video blogs for his website. They hope his contributions will amuse as well as inform. Go to www.honestjohn.co.uk
Photo Album
Meet the birds made famous by 'Hen, etc,' and members of our current flock -some of whom feature in 'Travels with My Chicken.'