Chris Lown

Chris Lown's book 'Tents and Tent Stability' did not win the Man Booker Prize for Literature in 2011, or indeed in any prior or subsequent year. It didn't win the prestigious Costa Awards in 2012 either, but this was largely due to its lack of nomination. Chris Lown, however, is an award-winning writer - he won a certificate in 1969 for treading water for more than five minutes without the aid of armbands, and a much coveted Boy Scouts 'Good Deed' badge for helping an elderly lady to cross the road.

Jane Austen fans may not be terribly enamoured with the title, but you must admit, it is rather quirky. 'Tents and Tent Stability' is Chris Lown's solitary oeuvre which he published to Kindle in August 2012 and in paperback format four months later. It's a travelogue, actually - the tale of an ill-fated camping trip around the sixteen states of Germany - a five-week adventure through Germany's rustic countryside with a second-rate tent that began to fall apart more or less from the outset. The story is a bizarre blend of fact and fiction which the author hopes readers will find both humorous and informative.

Chris Lown lives in west London. As a child he was expelled from the Scouts following a complaint made by an elderly lady who was forced to cross a busy dual carriageway against her will.