Ian Thornton

Ian Thornton read Business Studies and German at Sheffield University between 1986 and 1989, where he earned a First-Class B.A. (Hons). He has lived in many places including California, Costa Rica, Australia, Mexico, London, and his native and beloved Yorkshire before moving to Toronto in 2009.

In the 90s, Ian worked for Broadcast, TV World and Variety magazines. He is a co-founder of the global television industry publisher and market-leader, C21 Media.

His first novel, The Great and Calamitous Tale of Johan Thoms was published by Simon & Schuster in Canada in 2013, and, a year later, by HarperCollins in the U.K., U.S., and the Commonwealth. It was translated across Europe, taught at the Sorbonne, and received a Kirkus Star. https://www.ian-thornton.com/johan-thoms Kirkus Review https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ian-thornton/the-great-and-calamitous-tale-of-johan-thoms/ Simon & Schuster book trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUcFgcDitKM

Ian covered the Royal wedding in London for CTV, Canada's premier independent broadcaster, and has written for Wisden Cricketer, The Guardian, The Hindu and the Soho House magazine, House. He also wrote on the football World Cup in South Africa for the Canadian sports channel, The Score, and has worked for Queen’s University in Ontario, where the project was presented at the White House as part of President Obama's new media initiative. Ian is the official biographer of the Compton cricket club in California.

His second novel, The Deaths and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley was published (U.K. only and unshopped worldwide) to a fanfare in late 2019. This has been optioned by Castle Entertainment and close to commission with Sky History in the U.K. and PBS / WNET New York in the States.

His third book, My Year of Living Anonymously is near completion and an accompanying documentary feature had its broadcast premiere on TVO in Canada in 2021 and globally thereafter. The scripted drama version of Ian’s astonishing true-life Mister Robot story is about to go to network pitch. www.ian-thornton.com/myola

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/08/masked-avengers

Ian has also developed a major television youth hip hop concept with the legendary DMC brand, which is currently being pitched to Netflix. He is currently writing a book on Marcelo Bielsa, the world-famous football manager.

Ian lives in Toronto with his wife, Heather Gordon, and their two children, Laszlo and Clementine.

For more, please see www.ian-thornton.com