John Blake (journalist)
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| John Blake | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 6, 1948 |
| Occupation | journalist and publisher |
John Blake (born 6 November 1948, Hitchin, Hertfordshire) is a British journalist and publisher.
Early career
Beginning as a pop columnist for the London Evening News in the early 1970s, his work developed into a column titled "Ad Lib",[1] a gossip column and lifestyle guide. It survived the merger of the Evening News with the Evening Standard. In 1976 he co-wrote the best-selling book Up and Down with the Rolling Stones, the memoirs of 'Spanish Tony' Sanchez, friend of and assistant to Keith Richards.
Blake was the first editor of 'Bizarre', a column in The Sun launched in May 1982[2] concentrating on celebrity gossip. Blake moved to the Daily Mirror and launched a pop column called "White Hot Club". He was the newspaper's Assistant Editor between 1984 and 1988.[3]
In 1988 Blake became editor of the Sunday People.[4] Blake was president of the Mirror Group in the USA in the run-up to Robert Maxwell's anticipated purchase of the National Enquirer which lasted until the deal fell through.[4] Blake was a producer for Sky TV in 1990.
John Blake Publishing
He founded Blake Publishing in 1991 with his brother, David Blake.[5] After an acrimonious dissolution of the original partnership in March 2002, John Blake went solo as John Blake Publishing.[1] Six months after the company started, he was joined by journalist Rosie Virgo, who went on to become the company's managing director.[6] In 1998 the company published autobiographies by bareknuckle fighters Lenny McLean and Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw. Both books topped The Sunday Times bestseller list.[citation needed] In 2004, Being Jordan by Katie Price was published by Blake after larger firms had rejected the book. While the advance to Price was £10,000, the book, ghost written by Rebecca Farnworth, sold a million copies.[7]
In August 2008 On Her Majesty's Service a book published by John Blake Publishing under the name of Ronald Evans, a former bodyguard of Sir Salman Rushdie, had a Declaration of Falsity made against it by a Judge in the High Court for the inclusion of 11 "serious falsehoods" defaming Rushdie.[8] Rushdie did not seek any damages in his legal action.[9]
In 2005 the company received a 'Nibbie' national book award as Small Publisher of the Year.[10] In 2010 the company won a second 'Nibbie' as well as the IPA Award for Independent Publisher of the Year.[11] The company also publishes memoirs of football hooligans, including Cass by Cass Pennant,[12] Massive Attack by Trevor Tanner and Undesirables by Manchester United hooligan Colin Blaney.[13]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Danuta Kean "John Blake: Gentleman John", The Bookseller, 13 September 2001, as reproduced on Danuta Kean's website.
- ↑ Ciar Byrne "Newton returns to edit Bizarre", The Guardian, 18 November 2002
- ↑ "John Blake Esq Authorised Biography", Debrett's
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- ↑ David Sexton "Katie Price knows how to kiss and sell", Evening Standard, 2 September 2009
- ↑ "Bodyguard apologises to Rushdie", BBC News, 26 August 2008
- ↑ Mary Jordan "Rushdie Shoots Down Book's False Claims", Washington Post, 27 August 2008
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- ↑ Matt Hughes "Movies battling over hooligans", Evening Standard, 2 June 2003
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External links
- Company website
- Publishing commentator Danuta Kean interview with John Blake.
- Interview as The Celebrity Man with John Blake
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Editor of the Sunday People 1988–1989 |
Succeeded by Wendy Henry |
