Thomas Harding (writer)

Thomas Harding
Born	1968 London, England
Occupation	Author and journalist
Thomas Harding (writer) Genre Non-fiction
Notes [1]

Thomas Harding (born 1968) is a British/American non-fiction author, journalist, and former documentary maker.

Harding was educated at the independent Westminster School in London and then Corpus Christi, Cambridge, where he studied anthropology and political science. He worked in television and journalism before becoming an author.

Non-fiction

His book Hanns and Rudolf: The German Jew and the Hunt for the Kommandant of Auschwitz was published in 2013 by Random House (UK), Simon & Schuster (USA), and translated into ten languages. The book was a national bestseller in the UK, Italy and Israel and a critical success in the US. Hanns and Rudolf was chosen as a "Book of the Year" for 2013 in The Times, Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Observer, Daily Telegraph and New Statesman.

Hanns and Rudolf (book) was shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Book Awards.^[2] The judges wrote that the book is “A beautifully-balanced double biography, admirably measured but also gripping in its telling, which offers a fresh perspective on a much-examined subject”.^[3] It was also joint winner of the JQ-Wingate Prize 2015.^[4]

Writing in The Times, Ben Macintyre said, 'Meticulously researched and deeply felt, Hanns and Rudolf is written with a suppressed fury at the vicious moral emptiness of men like Höss, who were only following order'.^[5] In the Sunday Times, Max Hastings wrote, ‘This is a remarkable book, which deserves a wide readership even among those who think they are bored with the Holocaust'.^[6] In the Wall Street Journal, Ian Brunskill also praised the book, 'An enthralling, thoughtful book—part history, part biography, part thriller'.^[7] The book has been heralded by authors of the thriller genre. John Le Carré said it was 'A gripping thriller, an unspeakable crime, an essential history, a scrupulously dispassionate narrator.' While Frederick Forsyth said of the book, ‘An extraordinary tale deriving from meticulous research – the story of how a Jew after 1945 almost single-handed hunted down the Kommandant of Auschwitz.’

His next book Kadian Journal, was published in July 2014.^[8] The book received widespread critical acclaim.Express and Telegraph newspapers both gave it five stars. Writing in the The Observer newspaper, Kate Kelloway said it was "'an astonishing book about the incident and the unprocessable grief that followed... Harding's remarkable memoir is written with transparent emotional intelligence".^[9] In the Sunday Express, Giulia Rhodes wrote "This book is raw and heartbreaking but it is never intrusive or gratuitous. The writing is real and spare, the love so very deep that the reader can scarcely look away" .^[10] While Angela Levin in The Telegraph commented "A raw and compelling read, weaving between the accident, its aftermath, precious moments in Kadian's life and the unique relationship between a father and son".^[11]

Journalism

Harding has written for numerous newspapers including The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Independent, and The Financial Times. He also co-hosted a political talk show on WEPM (Martinsburg, West Virginia).

In December 2006 he became co-owner and publisher of The Observer newspaper, West Virginia. In February 2010 he was awarded the West Virginia Journalist of the Year by the Justice Association of West Virginia.

In September 2010, the Shepherdstown Observer paper won a Freedom of Information Act case before the WV Supreme Court^[12] which resulted in referendum petitions being released to the paper. During Harding's time as publisher the circulation of the paper quadrupled from 6000 to 25000. In July 2010 he sued the WV Secretary of State over a gag order. In October of the same year, criminal charges against him were dropped for taking a photograph in a polling station. In 2010 and 2011 he worked with John Doyle, a delegate in the West Virginia House of Delegates, to get West Virginia's first ever law passed to protect reporters' privilege from revealing their sources. In March 2011 this law was passed by the West Virginia House and Senate. In March 2011 he sold his interest in the paper to editor David Lillard. In June 2012 Judge Bloom granted Harding victory in the case Harding v Natalie Tennant.^[13] in which he claimed that the WV Secretary of State was gagging him as a journalist.

Videos and documentaries

Before moving to the USA, Harding co-founded and managed the environmental and social justice production company Undercurrents (news). During his time at the company Underurrents won awards at Okomedia, Tokyo Video Festival, Paris Environmental Film Festival, London Environment Film Festival, among others, and it became known for covering stories not covered by others news organizations. Undercurrents became part of the DIY culture and general protest upswing in the 1990s.^[14] and was the inspiration for an entire generation of committed video journalists.

He and his wife were joint CEOs and co-founders of Oxford Channel one of the first local terrestrial television stations in the UK. It was purchased by Milestone Group in 2001 but is no longer operational. During this time Harding founded Local Television Training that trained over three hundred young disadvantaged people from Oxford and surrounding areas in broadcast journalism. Many of these graduated and work currently in UK television. He also co-founded Tom, Dick and Debbie Productions, a local television advertising company.

Harding is credited with coining the phrase "video activism."

While in the USA, he co-founded the American Conservation Film Festival (ACFF), in partnership with the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WVa.

Personal life

Harding met his wife, Debora Harding, in 1987 when they cycled across the USA together as part of Bike Aid this came at the end of a year-long ride by Harding, Four Corners World Bike Ride, to raise awareness of Appropriate Technology and the work of Intermediate Technology Development Group. He cycled over 10,000 miles with three others from La Paz, Bolivia, across the USA (with Bike Aid) and back to Europe.^[15]

Harding splits his time between the USA and UK, he is father to two children.

Prizes

• 2010 "Journalist of the Year" presented by the Justice Association of West Virginia ^[16]
• 2013 Costa Book Awards (Biography) shortlist for Hanns and Rudolf^[17]
• 2015 Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize winner for Hanns and Rudolf^[18]

Sources

• Gag law
• Petitions are public record
• Publisher sues WV Secretary of State
• Shield Law
• Shield Law in WV
• Bike Aid
• Hanns and Rudolf (UK)
• Hanns and Rudolf (US)

References

External links

• Author website
• Shepherdstown Observer website
• ACFF website