Jason Cowley
Encyclopedia
Jason Cowley is a British
journalist
, magazine editor
and writer
. After working at the New Statesman
, he became the editor of Granta
in September 2007, while also remaining a writer on The Observer, and moved back to the New Statesman
as its editor in September 2008.
degree
in English and Philosophy. In the early 1990s, he began publishing reviews, literary essays and articles in British newspapers and magazines before, in 1996, becoming a staff writer on The Times
, during which period he was a judge of the Booker Prize for fiction. In the summer of 1998, he became literary editor of the New Statesman
, later he was a contributing editor of the magazine. Meanwhile he continued to publish widely on an unusual range and combination of subjects, including literature, sport and politics.
In 2003, he became editor of The Observer
Sport Monthly, which is acclaimed for the quality of its writing and photography. Under his editorship the magazine won numerous awards.
His novel, Unknown Pleasures, was published by Faber&Faber in 2000 and a second book, a work of narrative non-fiction called The Last Game: Love, Death and Football at the End of the Eighties, was published by Simon & Schuster
in spring 2009.
His appointment as the New Statesmans editor was announced on 16 May 2008. and he returned in September 2008. Cowley's philosophy for the New Statesman was to explore ideas across the political spectrum, saying "I want to use the pages of the magazine to explore political ideas on both left and right." On 10 November 2009, he won the British Society of Magazine Editors’ Editor of the Year award in the Special Interest and Current Affairs Magazines category. The judges said that Cowley had transformed the New Statesman and "created issues of the magazine that were the envy of the industry".
In April 2010, Jason Cowley was shortlisted for the most coveted awards in the magazine industry, as Editor of the Year (consumer magazines) in the PPA Awards.
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...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, magazine editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. After working at the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, he became the editor of Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
in September 2007, while also remaining a writer on The Observer, and moved back to the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
as its editor in September 2008.
Biography
He graduated from Southampton University in 1989 with a first classBritish undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in English and Philosophy. In the early 1990s, he began publishing reviews, literary essays and articles in British newspapers and magazines before, in 1996, becoming a staff writer on 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...
, during which period he was a judge of the Booker Prize for fiction. In the summer of 1998, he became literary editor of the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, later he was a contributing editor of the magazine. Meanwhile he continued to publish widely on an unusual range and combination of subjects, including literature, sport and politics.
In 2003, he became editor of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
Sport Monthly, which is acclaimed for the quality of its writing and photography. Under his editorship the magazine won numerous awards.
His novel, Unknown Pleasures, was published by Faber&Faber in 2000 and a second book, a work of narrative non-fiction called The Last Game: Love, Death and Football at the End of the Eighties, was published by Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
in spring 2009.
His appointment as the New Statesmans editor was announced on 16 May 2008. and he returned in September 2008. Cowley's philosophy for the New Statesman was to explore ideas across the political spectrum, saying "I want to use the pages of the magazine to explore political ideas on both left and right." On 10 November 2009, he won the British Society of Magazine Editors’ Editor of the Year award in the Special Interest and Current Affairs Magazines category. The judges said that Cowley had transformed the New Statesman and "created issues of the magazine that were the envy of the industry".
In April 2010, Jason Cowley was shortlisted for the most coveted awards in the magazine industry, as Editor of the Year (consumer magazines) in the PPA Awards.