The Royal Literary Fellowship scheme sees professional writers placed within universities to offer students practical advice on writing practice and style. Farndon takes over from crime novelist Alison Bruce, who held the post for the 2013-14 academic year.
Farndon is currently working on Do You Still Think You’re Clever? – the follow-up to Do You Think You’re Clever? which suggested answers for 75 famous Oxbridge entrance exam questions, a big book on Shakespeare and also Omnipaedia, a book about how to know everything.
He has previously written dozens of non-fiction books on a range of topics, including India Booms, Atlas of Oceans, Rocks and Minerals, Bird Flu: Everything You Need To Know, The Big Book of Knowledge, 101 Facts You Should Know About Food, and The World’s Greatest Idea.
Do Not Open, an encyclopaedia of the world’s best-kept secrets, received glowing reviews in the United States and featured on the New York Times best-seller list.
Farndon, who read English Literature at Jesus College, Cambridge, said: “I’ll be coming up in September to take the baton from the wonderful Alison Bruce in passing on the experience of a professional writer to some of Anglia Ruskin’s students.
“I’m of course very much looking forward to joining the Anglia Ruskin community and, though my skills are rather different from Alison’s, I’m hoping I can offer the students something of my own.
“I’m primarily a writer of non-fiction books, but I’m also a playwright, poet, lyricist, composer and literary translator – and more recently a singer!
“I’ll be available every Thursday and Friday to give advice and encouragement to any student who needs help with their writing – of any kind, from creative fiction to hard science.”
For more information about John Farndon and his work, visit http://www.johnfarndon.com/
*******
For more press information please contact:
Jon Green on t: 0845 196 4717, e: jon.green@anglia.ac.uk
Jamie Forsyth on t: 0845 196 4716, e: jamie.forsyth@anglia.ac.uk
_______________________________________________________