Simon Barnes

Simon Barnes is an English journalist. He was Chief Sports Writer of The Times until 2014, and wrote a wildlife opinion column in the Saturday edition of the same newspaper. He has written three novels. The son of Edward Barnes, a co-creator of the BBC children's TV programme Blue Peter, Barnes was educated at Emanuel School, and studied English literature at the University of Bristol, which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2007. After beginning his journalism career on local newspapers in Britain, he travelled to Hong Kong, where he wrote for travel magazines and, briefly, the South China Morning Post. After his return to Britain, he became a sports writer for The Times, being promoted in time to the position of Chief Sports Writer. He is the author of 16 books including three novels. His latest book, Birdwatching With your Eyes Closed: An Introduction to Birdsong, was published in 2011.