Geoff Hill (Northern Ireland journalist)
| Geoff Hill | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 21, 1956 |
| Occupation | Journalist, book writer |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Travel writing |
Geoff Hill (born May 21, 1956[1]) is an author, journalist and long-distance motorcycle rider living in Belfast. He is a critically acclaimed author and award-winning feature and travel writer.[2]
He studied at Queen's University Belfast from 1975–1979,[3] where he was a features editor for The Gown,[4] and graduated with a BA in English Language and Literature. Hill was the features editor of the Belfast News Letter from January 1991 – March 2009.
Works
His first travel book, Way to Go (2005), on two motorcycle journeys - from Delhi to Belfast on a Royal Enfield and Route 66 on a Harley Davidson - was published in April 2005,[5] was the Mail on Sunday's book of the week, was nominated for UK travel book of the year and has been reprinted six times.
The sequel, The Road to Gobblers Knob (2007), on a ride from Chile to Alaska along the 16,500 miles of the Pan-American Highway, was published in Spring 2007 and became an immediate Waterstone’s best seller. His next book, Anyway, Where Was I? Geoff Hill’s alternative A-Z of the world (2008), was published in October 2008 and also went straight into Waterstone’s best sellers list.
A 2010 work, Oz : around Australia on a Triumph, describes his 15,000 mile motorcycle circumnavigation of Australia with a partner on Highway 1.
In 2013 he wrote In Clancy's Boots, the story of Carl Stearns Clancy, who traveled around the world by motorcycle.[6][7] Hill recreated Clancy's 1912–1913 circumnavigation of the globe (see Carl Stearns Clancy § Centenary commemorative circumnavigation). He has either won or been shortlisted for a UK Travel Writer of the Year award nine times. He is also a former Irish Travel Writer of the Year and a former Mexican Government European Travel Writer of the Year.[8]
He is the author of Smith, a novel of which The Independent on Sunday said: "Lyrical and lunatic... few first novels achieve as much",[9] and which The Times described as "hilarious".
Bibliography
- Hill, Geoff (1994), Smith, Belfast: Blackstaff Press, ISBN 0856404853
- Hill, Geoff (2005), Way to Go: Two of the World's Great Motorcycle Journeys, Belfast: Blackstaff Press, ISBN 0856407658
- Hill, Geoff (2007), The Road To Gobblers Knob: From Chile to Alaska on a Motorbike, Belfast: Blackstaff Press, ISBN 0856408042
- Hill, Geoff (2008). Anyway, Where Was I?: Geoff Hill's Alternative A-Z of the World. Belfast: Blackstaff Press. ISBN 9780856408311.
- Hill, Geoff; O'Carroll, Colin (2010). Oz : around Australia on a Triumph. Belfast: Blackstaff Press. ISBN 978-0-85640-857-1.
- Hill, Geoff (2014). In Clancy's Boots: The Greatest Ever Round-the-World Motorbike Adventure. Belfast: Blackstaff Press. ISBN 978-0-85640-913-4.
- Hill, Geoff (2014), Geoff Hill's A-Z of Bikes, Amazon Digital Services, ASIN B00QZ39B60
Awards
- Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) Northern Ireland Journalist of the Year[10]
References
- ↑ "Author record: Hill, Geoff, 1956 May 21-", Holdings catalog (Issaquah, Washington: King County Library System), retrieved 2015-09-09
- ↑ Geoff Hills epic motorbike journies in the Autumn Edition of Worldrover Travel Magazine
- ↑ "MY CULTURAL LIFE: Geoff Hill: The intrepid travel writer on meeting Leonard Cohen, catching trains and traveling with a smile", Culture Northern Ireland (Derry/Londonderry: Nerve Centre), May 9, 2008
- ↑ http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2015/news/student-newspaper-celebrates-60-years-with-exhibition/
- ↑ "Hill, Geoff: The Road to Gobblers Knob.(Brief article)(Book review)". Kirkus Reviews, via Highbeam (subscription required).
- ↑ "Globe Girdlers Six". Riders Digest.
- ↑ http://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/travel/geoff-hill-writes-for-bike-social-
- ↑ http://www.blackstaffpress.com/authorinfo.aspx?author=59
- ↑ Mark Sanderson (3 October 1993), "Books in brief: Smith by Geoff Hill", The Independent
- ↑ O'Neill, Olivia (2015-02-10). "Six explorers who'll make you want to leave the office now". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
External links
- http://www.mirror.co.uk/authors/geoff-hill/ Daily Mirror archive
- http://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/travel/ Bennetts BikeSocial archive (July 2013–September 2013)
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