Thomas Hocknell

It's hard to know when he started writing. He recalls a story involving his Action Men that was never finished, which is probably for the best. He recalls sitting down at a desk when he was 21 and asking flat mates to not disturb him as he scribbled out some poems. He was drawn to the spirituality of the Romantic poets, who seemed to spend more time loafing around Greek islands and having orgies than actually writing anything. However, as a life style choice he was made quickly aware of its limitations, so started working in IT recruitment and then Social Work instead.

He studied at the Faber Academy and since then Thomas Hocknell has had his debut novel the Life Assistance Agency published by Urbane in 2016. It was chosen for WHSmith Fresh Talent. its follow up, Unfinished Business, was published in 2019 and which OK magazine said 'if you loved the first there's definitely unfinished business here.' They declined to say what to do if you hated the first.

His new book, Idle Thoughts of an Idle Writer: Reflections on life and the creative process, is out now on Kindle and paperback.