David J. Howe
Encyclopedia
David J. Howe is a British
writer, journalist, publisher, and media historian.
s (notably The Frame) and other publications. In the early 1990s, he began to write the first in-depth critical texts of the British television series Doctor Who
, and as a result has become closely associated with the show's history. He has written or co-written over twenty titles about the show, and continues to be involved with a variety of publications, often acting as consultant or reviewer.
In particular, Howe collaborated on some of the key texts in Virgin Publishing's range of Doctor Who reference works, including the three Decades books (with Stephen James Walker and Mark Stammers), considered to be some of the most in-depth works about the production history of the show. The same authors followed these with guide books which covered the individual tenures of each Doctor in turn.
Howe and Stephen James Walker set up the publishing house Telos Publishing Ltd.
in 2002, which initially published Doctor Who novellas
until the licence was withdrawn by BBC Worldwide
in 2004. Telos continues to publish non-Doctor Who works and unofficial Doctor Who reference works, including the well-regarded 2003 book The Television Companion (by Howe and Walker, and previously released as Doctor Who: The Television Companion in 1998 by BBC Publishing) and The Handbook, collecting the previously written Virgin Publishing guide books Doctor Who The Handbook in one volume in 2005. In 2007 and 2008, Howe also is serving as the editor for Time's Champion
, an independent Doctor Who
novel based on the late Craig Hinton
's final unpublished novel and completed by his friend Chris McKeon, which features the Sixth Doctor
and the Valeyard
.
Howe also wrote Daemos Rising, an original film directed by Keith Barnfarther, and is planning to write further adventures for the screen. He also wrote a story for the first Virgin Decalog
short story
collection, his only piece of official Doctor Who fiction to be published. He continues to work as co-director of Telos Publishing, which has expanded to publish a wide range of classic and new science fiction stories.
Howe also has one of the largest collections of Doctor Who merchandise
in the world.
Aside from his Doctor Who work, Howe is the reviews editor for the horror film
magazine Shivers
. He was also a contributing editor to Starburst
magazine and edited the book reviews column for that magazine for sixteen years. He edited the British Fantasy Society
's bi-monthly newsletter for several years in the 1990s, and was the chair of that organisation from September 2010 to October 2011.
Text and photograph coordination for Doctor Who 1996 Diary (hardback, 1995 Mallon Publishing, Australia)
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer, journalist, publisher, and media historian.
Biography
David Howe was born in 1961 and established himself (in the early ‘80s) as an authoritative media historian through writing articles for fanzineFanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s (notably The Frame) and other publications. In the early 1990s, he began to write the first in-depth critical texts of the British television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, and as a result has become closely associated with the show's history. He has written or co-written over twenty titles about the show, and continues to be involved with a variety of publications, often acting as consultant or reviewer.
In particular, Howe collaborated on some of the key texts in Virgin Publishing's range of Doctor Who reference works, including the three Decades books (with Stephen James Walker and Mark Stammers), considered to be some of the most in-depth works about the production history of the show. The same authors followed these with guide books which covered the individual tenures of each Doctor in turn.
Howe and Stephen James Walker set up the publishing house Telos Publishing Ltd.
Telos Publishing Ltd.
Telos Publishing Ltd. is a publishing company, originally established by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker, with their first publication being a horror anthology based on the television series Urban Gothic in 2001...
in 2002, which initially published Doctor Who novellas
Telos Doctor Who novellas
The Telos Doctor Who novellas were a series of tie-in novellas based on the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, officially licensed by the BBC and published by Telos Publishing Ltd...
until the licence was withdrawn by BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
in 2004. Telos continues to publish non-Doctor Who works and unofficial Doctor Who reference works, including the well-regarded 2003 book The Television Companion (by Howe and Walker, and previously released as Doctor Who: The Television Companion in 1998 by BBC Publishing) and The Handbook, collecting the previously written Virgin Publishing guide books Doctor Who The Handbook in one volume in 2005. In 2007 and 2008, Howe also is serving as the editor for Time's Champion
Time's Champion
Time's Champion is a work of Doctor Who fan fiction, written by Chris McKeon on the basis of an original novel outline by the late Craig Hinton, and incorporating fragments of text by Hinton...
, an independent Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
novel based on the late Craig Hinton
Craig Hinton
Craig Paul Alexander Hinton was a British writer best known for his work on various spin-offs from the BBC Television series Doctor Who....
's final unpublished novel and completed by his friend Chris McKeon, which features the Sixth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...
and the Valeyard
Valeyard
The Valeyard is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. He is described as an aspect of the Doctor from between his twelfth and final incarnations as depicted in the TV show or regenerations in the novelization of the story...
.
Howe also wrote Daemos Rising, an original film directed by Keith Barnfarther, and is planning to write further adventures for the screen. He also wrote a story for the first Virgin Decalog
Virgin Decalog
The Virgin Decalog books were collections of short stories published by Virgin Publishing based on the television series Doctor Who: they gained their name from the fact that each volume contained ten stories...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
collection, his only piece of official Doctor Who fiction to be published. He continues to work as co-director of Telos Publishing, which has expanded to publish a wide range of classic and new science fiction stories.
Howe also has one of the largest collections of Doctor Who merchandise
Doctor Who merchandise
The long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who has since its beginnings in the 1960s generated many hundreds of products related to the show, from toys and games to picture cards and postage stamps. This article is not an exhaustive list of merchandise but attempts to present...
in the world.
Aside from his Doctor Who work, Howe is the reviews editor for the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
magazine Shivers
Shivers (magazine)
Shivers was a UK-based magazine that began publication in 1992. It was dedicated to horror movies, television shows and literature.-History:...
. He was also a contributing editor to Starburst
Starburst (magazine)
Starburst is a British science fiction online magazine published by Starburst Magazine Limited. The magazine is published every month on the 14th, with news and reviews being published daily.-History:...
magazine and edited the book reviews column for that magazine for sixteen years. He edited the British Fantasy Society
British Fantasy Society
The British Fantasy Society began in 1971 as the British Weird Fantasy Society, an offshoot of the British Science Fiction Association. The society is dedicated to promoting the best in the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres....
's bi-monthly newsletter for several years in the 1990s, and was the chair of that organisation from September 2010 to October 2011.
Selected bibliography
- Doctor Who The Sixties (hardback, co-written with Stephen James Walker & Mark Stammers, 1992, Virgin Publishing. Paperback published 1993)
- Doctor Who The Seventies (hardback, co-written with Walker and Stammers, 1994, Virgin Publishing. Paperback published 1995)
- Doctor Who The Eighties (hardback, co-written with Walker and Stammers, 1996, Virgin Publishing. Paperback published 1997)
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Fourth Doctor (paperback, co-written with Walker & Stammers, 1992, Virgin Publishing)
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Sixth Doctor (paperback, co-written with Walker & Stammers, 1993, Virgin Publishing)
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The First Doctor (paperback, co-written with Walker & Stammers, 1994, Virgin Publishing)
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Fifth Doctor (paperback, co-written with Walker, 1995, Virgin Publishing)
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Third Doctor (paperback, co-written with Walker, 1996, Virgin Publishing)
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Second Doctor (paperback, co-written with Walker & Stammers, 1997 Virgin Publishing)
- Doctor Who The Handbook: The Seventh Doctor (paperback, co-written with Walker, 1998 Virgin Publishing)
- Doctor Who: Drabble Who (hardback, co-edited with David Wake, 1993, Beccon Publications – collection of 100 short pieces of Doctor Who-related fiction and verse published for charity)
- Doctor Who: Timeframe – The Illustrated History (hardback, 1993, Virgin Publishing – The official 30th anniversary of Doctor Who book. Paperback published 1994)
- Doctor Who: Companions (hardback, co-written with Stammers, 1995, Virgin Publishing. Paperback published 1996)
Text and photograph coordination for Doctor Who 1996 Diary (hardback, 1995 Mallon Publishing, Australia)
- Reflections: The Fantasy Art of Stephen Bradbury (text, limp-back, 1996, Paper Tiger). See, Stephen Bradbury (artist)Stephen Bradbury (artist)Stephen Bradbury is an illustrator and painter.- Biography :Stephen Bradbury was born in Ardwick, Manchester, England, in 1954. The eldest of three sons to William and Doreen Bradbury. The family moved from Ardwick to Marple, Cheshire in 1962...
- Doctor Who TX File (text for filofax insert book, 1996, BBC Publishing)
- Doctor Who: I Am The Doctor (hardback, co-written with Jon Pertwee, 1996, Virgin Publishing – Jon Pertwee’s Doctor Who autobiography)
- Doctor Who: A Book of Monsters (hardback, 1997, BBC Publishing)
- Doctor Who: The Television Companion (paperback, co-written with Walker, 1998, BBC Publishing)
- Howe’s Transcendental Toybox: The Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who Collectibles (paperback, co-written with Arnold T Blumberg, 2000, Telos Publishing)
- The Television Companion: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who (paperback/hardback, co-written with Walker, 2003, Telos Publishing)
- Howe’s Transcendental Toybox: Second Edition: The Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who Collectibles (paperback, co-written with Arnold T Blumberg, 2003, Telos Publishing)
- Howe’s Transcendental Toybox: 2003 Update Edition (paperback, co-written with Arnold T Blumberg, 2004, Telos Publishing)
- The Handbook: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Production of Doctor Who (paperback/hardback, co-written with Walker & Stammers, 2005, Telos Publishing)
- The Target Book: A History of the Target Doctor Who Books (paperback, 2007, Telos Publishing)