Martin Gurdon is a journalist, columnist, author, copywriter and video maker. He also has an unusual line in public speaking.
JOURNALISM
Martin specialises in motoring, but writes about all sorts of subjects. As a car writer, he’s a regular contributor and columnist with Classic Cars magazine and writes for The National, an Abu Dhabi-based English language daily newspaper and the London Evening Standard.
Martin has also contributed to titles including the Daily Telegraph, Independent, She, MotorSport, Autocar and Diesel Car magazines. His work has been used extensively in websites for Sky, Honest John and AutoTrader.
Non-car outlets include the Sunday Telegraph, where he writes a monthly column on chicken keeping, and the Women’s Institute’s WI Life magazine, where he authors a column called Confessions of a WI Speaker. He’s written about property for the Saturday Telegraph, travel for the Evening Standard and arts-themed stories for Mojo and the National.
Martin has also provided regular holiday cover, going on site to write news and feature stories for titles as diverse as AutoTrader, Harpers, Independent Retail News and Motor Trader. Martin is also a judge for the annual Motor Trader Awards.
CORPORATE WORK AND COPYWRITING
Martin provides onsite or work-from-home copywriting services for public relations agencies, house and customer magazines. Recent work includes producing regional press news stories about Mazda-sponsored tri-athletes for the PFPR agency and a mix of travel and interview-driven stories for Vauxhall’s customer magazine.
BOOKS
Martin has written six books, five for New Holland Publishers, including Hen and the Art of Chicken Maintenance, which lifts the lid on the often-bizarre and hilarious world of amateur hen keeping, is now in its fourth reprint and has sold over 10,000 copies. He’s also the author of Write On! a book designed to show how journalistic skills can be applied to any form of writing, and What is the Perfect Pong? a children’s book (with Eleanor Bentall).
VIDEO
Martin has made regular video blog road tests for Honest John’s websites (see www.honestjohn.co.uk), together with the Independent, the National and AutoTrader. He also makes monthly video blogs for his Sunday Telegraph column (see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/7906736/Keeping-chickens-Hen-and-the-art-of-chicken-maintenance.html). These items are entirely self filmed and edited.
Martin has also been used as a talking head for Top Gear, Carlton TV’s Pulling Power and written and presented think pieces for Radio 4’s Open Book and Home Truths programmes.
TALKS
When promoting ‘Hen, etc,’ Martin gave a comedic bookshop talk in the company of a real chicken (bizarre, but it created a lot of interest). This morphed into an unlikely after dinner and conference turn which he’s performed well over 200 times to audiences of up to 700 people. He has bookings well into next year, including an appearance at the Lady Taverners’ Christmas dinner in London.
If you like the idea of a 45 minute-1 hour talk on sex, death and domestic fowl, Martin works with two speaker’s agencies.
JLA
(after dinner/conference)
James Hamilton (james.hamilton@jla.co.uk/0207-907-2800)
The Speaker’s Agency
Non-corporate bookings (lunch and supper clubs, regional associations, etc)
Jennie Storr (01530 263221/jennie@thespeakersagency.com)