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. 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 from 1758 to 1760.
Biography
Tom Hodgkinson was born in Newcastle, England. He is the brother of journalist and author Will Hodgkinson; their father is the science and medical writer Neville Hodgkinson and their mother is the prolific non-fiction writer and journalist Liz Hodgkinson.[1][2]
Hodgkinson was educated at Westminster School and Jesus College, Cambridge, 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.[3]
In the early 1990s, he worked at a Rough Trade Records shop in London, where he had the idea for The Idler.[4] In the late 1990s, he became an importer of absinthe.[5]
From 1995 to 1997 he was Joint Head of Creative Development at Guardian Newspapers, where he worked for Carolyn McCall and Alan Rusbridger.[citation needed]
From 1997 to 2002 he and Gavin Pretor-Pinney ran Idle Industries, a creative consultancy with clients such as Channel 4, The Guardian, Sony PlayStation, ad agency Mother, Paramount TV and Oakley. The pair launched the Crap Towns series of books.[citation needed]
Hodgkinson has contributed articles to The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian and The Sunday Times 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.[citation needed]
In 2006 he created National Unawareness Day, to be celebrated on 1 November.[6]
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, singing, drawing, calligraphy, astronomy, foraging, bread baking, bartitsu and small business.[7][8]
In April 2013 he launched the Idler Academy Bad Grammar Award,[9] 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.[10]
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)
- Business for Bohemians (2017)
- The Idler's Manual (2021)
See also
References
- ^ Review by Mick Brown in The Telegraph of The House Is Full of Yogis by Will Hodgkinson
- ^ http://www.lizhodgkinson.com/lh/biography Biography page on Liz Hodgkinson's website
- ^ "Tom Hodgkinson: Having successfully quit the rat race, I now find myself trying to get back into it". The Independent. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ "The Great Escape: Tom Hodgkinson (with Neil Scott)". Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ Tom Hodgkinson (7 February 2004). "Review: Hideous Absinthe by Jad Adams – Books – The Guardian". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ "November 1: National Unawareness Day". The Guardian. November 2006.
- ^ Matthew Reisz (August 2011). "Truth, beauty... idleness". Times Higher Education.
- ^ https://thecreativelife.net/tom-hodgkinson/
- ^ "Just how bad is bad grammar?". BBC News. May 2013.
- ^ "Tom Hodgkinson: 'Jeremy Clarkson howled with horror and crawled under the table to escape'". The Independent. August 2013.
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