Robert Wringham
| Robert Wringham | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Robert Westwood 1982 Dudley, England |
| Pen name | Robert Wringham |
| Occupation | Humorist, Author, Comedian |
| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship |
British citizen Resident of Canada |
| Period | 2007–present |
| Genre | Humorous non-fiction, surreal humour, wit, memoir |
| Notable works |
New Escapologist (2007-Present); A Loose Egg (2014) |
| Spouse | Samara Leibner (m. 2014) |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Robert Wringham (born Robert Westwood on 28 November 1982) is a British humorist, best known as the editor of New Escapologist magazine.[1] His 2014 book, A Loose Egg, was shortlisted for the 2015 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.[2][3]
Work
Wringham's style of humour derives from his comic persona as an arch and somewhat foppish urbanite, averse to hard work and suspicious of nature. He's described it as "English dandy meets hipster doofus."[4] His essays often focus on incidents (or tall tales) from his purportedly indolent life.[5]
Wringham is the editor and publisher of New Escapologist, a lifestyle magazine advocating escape from the daily grind.[6] It typically contains a blend of light humour, practical information and moral support for people who want to live unconventional or workshy lives. Notable features have included work by or interviews with Alain de Botton, Lord Whimsy, Dave Thompson, Will Self, Richard Herring, Ewan Morrison, Tom Hodgkinson and Luke Rhinehart.
In 2012, Go Faster Stripe published Wringham's first non-fiction book You Are Nothing,[7] a micro-history of Dadaesque[8] comedy troupe Cluub Zarathustra, whose members included Stewart Lee, Simon Munnery, Kevin Eldon, Julian Barratt, Graham Linehan, Sally Phillips and Johnny Vegas.[9][10] The book is written from Wringham's perspective, drawing on interviews with members of the cast and audience as well as collected press cuttings and fanzine material from the 1990s.
With Ian Macperson, Magi Gibson, Alan Bissett and Iain Heggie, Wringham was a founder member of "Discombobulate", a cabaret and spoken word night dedicated to comic literature.[11] He was also the first guest performer at Stewart Laing's "The Salon Project" at Traverse Theatre.[12]
Wringham writes for Joshua Glenn's pop culture website HiLobrow,[13] and for the Idler magazine.[14] 2014 saw him humorously extolling the pleasures of convalescence[15] and napping[16] for Playboy.
In 2015, A Loose Egg was longlisted and finally shortlisted for the Leacock Medal.[17][18] He was also successful that year in crowdfunding his third book, Escape Everything! with publisher Unbound.[19]
Books
- Wringham, Robert (2012). You Are Nothing. Cardiff: Go Faster Stripe. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-9560901-2-6.
- Wringham, Robert (2014). A Loose Egg. Montreal: Eggs Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-9939318-0-2.
- Wringham, Robert (2016). Escape Everything!. London: Unbound. ISBN 978-1783521333.
Personal life
Originally from Dudley, Wringham moved to Glasgow in 2004.[20] He is also a Resident of Canada and has lived in Montreal.[21][22] He married his long-term partner Samara, who appears as a foil in some of his writings, in 2014.[23] They currently live together in Glasgow.
His pseudonym comes from James Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, a Scottish gothic horror novel.[24]
References
- ↑ Penguin Authors: Robert Wringham Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ 2015 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour shortlist revealed CBC. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Terry Fallis Wins 2015 Leacock Humour Award Toronto Star. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Twitter 4 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ A Loose Egg (2014)
- ↑ 'Extremely damaging' work stress causes Brits to drink, smoke and be lazy Russia Today. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ↑ Robert Wringham - You Are Nothing Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ You Are Nothing by Robert Wringham: book review by Steve Bennett Chortle. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Robert Wringham - You Are Nothing The List. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Cluub Zarathustra: where British comedy was reborn Telegraph. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Discombobulate Poster 6 March 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Director Stewart Laing on The Salon Project The List. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Posts by Robert Wringham HiLoBrow. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ How to Quit your job Idler. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ The Anatomy of the Man Cold Playboy. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ The Nap: Modern Man's Final Refuge Playboy. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Author wins Leacock Medal for Humour for second time Orillia Packet and Times. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Leacock humour shortlist unveiled in Orillia Simco.com. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Escape Everything! Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ What is Robert Wringham? Wringham.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ I'm not an employee by nature. Nobody is New Escapologist. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Avoiding Modern Life Mongrel p22. 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ Day of the Coconut Wringham.co.uk. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
- ↑ What is Robert Wringham? Wringham.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2016.