Andy Martin (author)
Encyclopedia
Andy Martin is a British author and academic. He is a regular contributor to BBC radio
programmes and sometimes writes for "The Stone" and "Opinionator" columns in The New York Times
(cf "The Phenomenology of Ugly"). He has also written articles for the web broadcasting service SBS Broadcasting Group
. He scripted and produced the short film "Once Upon a Time in New York" in collaboration with Moving Content and likewise "MML the Movie: Languages at Cambridge", directed by Will Frears with Norman Lomax. Both films feature original soundtracks by brothers Jack and Spencer Martin.
, 2001), Waiting for Bardot
(Faber and Faber
, 1996) and Walking on Water (John Murray
and Minerva, 1992).
Walking on Water, Martin's first book on surfing, rapidly became a cult classic and was short-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
, 1991. Stealing the Wave: the epic struggle between Ken Bradshaw
and Mark Foo
was described as ‘the finest sports book I’ve ever read’ (Steve Bunce
, BBC Radio) and an 'Awesome read!' (Newcastle Herald, Australia
). The Telegraph
newspaper hailed it as a 'terrific book'. Martin was the first surfing correspondent to The Times
(London) and had the first ever surfing column in a major newspaper in Britain (the Independent on Sunday). Martin led a course in creative non-fiction at the Arvon Foundation
in November 2009. Waiting for Bardot was first optioned by Working Title
. It is now scheduled to be made into a feature film directed by Will Frears, with shooting to begin in the near future.
His latest book published by Simon and Schuster in 2009 is entitled Beware Invisible Cows: My Search for the Soul of the Universe . The New Scientist
wrote: 'For one man's wacky and profound take on the nature of reality, surf's up.' The Independent
newspaper described the book as 'a fantastic intellectual voyage, a real eye-opener'.
Martin is currently working on a project entitled The Boxer and the Goalkeeper: Sartre vs Camus, due to be published by Simon and Schuster in 2012. Most recently he has collaborated on a short film called "MML the Movie" about studying languages at the University of Cambridge
.
since 1990. His PhD is from King's College, Cambridge
, on the subject of the knowledge of ignorance
. He has been an Associate Research Fellow at the Rutgers
Center for Historical Analysis and a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University
. In 2009 he was awarded a fellowship at the New York Public Library
.
Martin was interviewed by Cambridge Varsity
in the May Week issue no. 699 and described as 'something of a whispered myth amongst his many students'.
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
programmes and sometimes writes for "The Stone" and "Opinionator" columns in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
(cf "The Phenomenology of Ugly"). He has also written articles for the web broadcasting service SBS Broadcasting Group
SBS Broadcasting Group
SBS Broadcasting Group was a European broadcasting group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Western and Central and Eastern Europe...
. He scripted and produced the short film "Once Upon a Time in New York" in collaboration with Moving Content and likewise "MML the Movie: Languages at Cambridge", directed by Will Frears with Norman Lomax. Both films feature original soundtracks by brothers Jack and Spencer Martin.
Writer
Martin is the author of several books, including Stealing the Wave (Bloomsbury, 2007), Napoleon the Novelist (PolityPolity (publisher)
Polity is an international publisher in the social sciences and humanities. It publishes around 100 books a year in sociology, politics, philosophy, media and cultural studies, health studies, literary studies, history, anthropology and related subjects. Its books range from core textbooks for...
, 2001), Waiting for Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
(Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, 1996) and Walking on Water (John Murray
John Murray (publisher)
John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
and Minerva, 1992).
Walking on Water, Martin's first book on surfing, rapidly became a cult classic and was short-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year
William Hill Sports Book of the Year
The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British literary award sponsored by bookmakers William Hill. It claims to be "the world's richest sports book prize" at £22,000...
, 1991. Stealing the Wave: the epic struggle between Ken Bradshaw
Ken Bradshaw
Ken Bradshaw is an American professional surfer and winner of the 1982 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship....
and Mark Foo
Mark Foo
Mark Sheldon Foo was a professional surfer.-Life and career:Born in Singapore to Chinese photojournalists for the U.S. Information Agency, he relocated to Hawaii at age 10. Foo spent his early childhood surfing the South Shore of O'ahu...
was described as ‘the finest sports book I’ve ever read’ (Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce
Steve Bunce is a freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme Inside Sport and on BBC Radio Five Live's Fighting Talk...
, BBC Radio) and an 'Awesome read!' (Newcastle Herald, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
). The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
newspaper hailed it as a 'terrific book'. Martin was the first surfing correspondent to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
(London) and had the first ever surfing column in a major newspaper in Britain (the Independent on Sunday). Martin led a course in creative non-fiction at the Arvon Foundation
Arvon Foundation
The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which promotes creative writing. It is based in the Free Word Centre for literature, literacy and free expression in London.-History:...
in November 2009. Waiting for Bardot was first optioned by Working Title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
. It is now scheduled to be made into a feature film directed by Will Frears, with shooting to begin in the near future.
His latest book published by Simon and Schuster in 2009 is entitled Beware Invisible Cows: My Search for the Soul of the Universe . The New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly non-peer-reviewed English-language international science magazine, which since 1996 has also run a website, covering recent developments in science and technology for a general audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of...
wrote: 'For one man's wacky and profound take on the nature of reality, surf's up.' The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper described the book as 'a fantastic intellectual voyage, a real eye-opener'.
Martin is currently working on a project entitled The Boxer and the Goalkeeper: Sartre vs Camus, due to be published by Simon and Schuster in 2012. Most recently he has collaborated on a short film called "MML the Movie" about studying languages at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Academic life
He has been a lecturer in the department of French at the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
since 1990. His PhD is from King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, on the subject of the knowledge of ignorance
Ignorance
Ignorance is a state of being uninformed . The word ignorant is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware and is often used as an insult...
. He has been an Associate Research Fellow at the Rutgers
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
Center for Historical Analysis and a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. In 2009 he was awarded a fellowship at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
Martin was interviewed by Cambridge Varsity
Varsity (Cambridge)
Varsity is the oldest of Cambridge University's main student newspapers. It has been published continuously since 1947, and is one of only three fully independent student newspapers in the UK. It appears every Friday around Cambridge...
in the May Week issue no. 699 and described as 'something of a whispered myth amongst his many students'.