Terence Blacker

Terence Blacker (born 5 February 1948, near Hadleigh, Suffolk) is an English songwriter, author and columnist.

Blacker is the son of General Sir Cecil Blacker, and the brother of sculptor and former jockey Philip Blacker.

He grew up on the family farm in Suffolk.

He attended Hawtreys preparatory school and Wellington College, before reading English at Trinity College, Cambridge, whence he graduated in 1969.

Blacker began his working life in horse-racing and as an amateur jockey.

Subsequently, he worked in publishing for 10 years during the 1970s and 1980s, where he was responsible for overseeing the publication of works by Jerzy Kosinski.

In 1975 he married Caroline Soper, youngest daughter of the radical Methodist minister Donald Soper (div. 2001).

They have two children, Xan and Alice.

Blacker's partner is now Angela Sykes.

He writes the "Endpaper" for The Author.

For many years, he wrote the "Harvey Porlock" column in The Sunday Times, as well as a column about the book business for Publishing News.

Blacker became a full-time writer in 1983 and has written children's books and mysteries for adults.

His first children's book, If I Could Work, was published in 1987 and his first adult novel, FIXX, won critical acclaim and was described by The Guardian as a "tour de force".

He is an active member of English PEN, and is also an EAW member.

His regular writing for The Independent, newspaper, usually consisting of twice-weekly columns, came to an end in December 2013 after nearly 16 years.

Blacker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2017.