Mark Blackburn
Mark grew up at the rural end of Berkshire the oldest of four children, but arriving in London during the heyday of punk to study at the LSE, he felt that was where he belonged. Sundry abortive attempts at stardom followed, as a stand-up comedian, actor and musician.
A successful career there as a shoe-seller followed, but Mark now lives in Somerset, England, doing what he loves best - writing. Extracts of his upcoming book Final Approach: My Father and Other Turbulence, part-memoir, part-travelogue have already won him a trip to Sydney and appeared in Moxy literary magazine and elsewhere. He has written a number of short stories, poems and other pieces of creative non-fiction which have been published online and in print. Dame Margaret Drabble selected Mark as Runner-Up in the Interact Ruth Rendell Short Story Prize, saying how much she loved and related to his story, The Wall. He was also shortlisted for the 2022 TLC Pen Factor Pitch Prize.
He regularly reads and performs his work at events and literary festivals in the South-West, and has appeared in the media talking about his writing and the writing process. When he isn’t writing, he may well be found under the bonnet of an old car trying to coax it back to life on a classic car rally.