WHAT I DO
I write and speak mainly about Japanese animation, comics and popular culture, needlework, the history of dress, turning a hobby into a business, and the history of fandom.
My first book was published in 1992; I’ve written or co-authored a dozen more, including the epic text The Anime Encyclopedia (with Jonathan Clements,) alongside many articles and essays. Two new books are due out in 2026. My books have been translated from English into Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German, with Bulgarian soon to be added to the list.
in 1991 I co-founded and edited the U.K.’s first anime magazine, Anime U.K.. It ran for six years and sold in the USA, Europe and Japan. I later edited Manga Max magazine for Titan Publishing. I wrote a regular column in Super Play magazine and occasional features in outlets ranging from Imagine FX to the Daily Telegraph.
I curated film seasons at the Barbican Cinema in London for almost a decade in the 2000s, including an 80th anniversary season in 2009 for the great Japanese creator Osamu Tezuka. I was lucky enough to work on the epic Manga! exhibition at the British Museum in 2019, and would love to see more museums and galleries explore Japan’s comics and animation culture.
Now I’ve retired from the day job, I travel around the U.K . a couple of times a month giving presentations on Studio Ghibli for Seed Talks. I’m also hoping to publish some of my fiction and poetry, but have no intention of giving up writing about anime and manga.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Manga Bible is out from Ilex in March 2026 – pre-order now!
Pre-orders really help authors and publishers, but if you order from your local indie bookshop or ask your local library to order the book, that supports them too.
Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation (Revised and Extended Edition) will be published by McFarland in 2026. My 1999 book has been updated to cover Miyazaki’s five 21st-century films and other activities. The book is in production and there’s no cover image yet – I’ll post a link as soon as one is available.
I contributed an essay to The Many Worlds of Isao Takahata (ed. Denison, Coleman, Desser) due out on 8 Dec 2025 from University of Hawai’i Press.
CONTACT ME
Publishers looking to enter the anime and manga field are are welcome to contact me through my website or via the Society. I have a huge list of projects I’d love to explore, and my track record in producing popular, saleable books appealing to a wide range of readers speaks for itself. If we aren’t the right fit for each other, I’ll happily recommend writers who may work better for your needs.
Event, festival and talk organisers should contact me through my website to enquire about bookings. I do not speak without payment at literary festivals or other events where the public are charged admission and staff are paid, unless there is a very strong connection to a cause I support. In all such cases I charge my expenses at cost. Please get in touch early – my diary is usually full for 5-6 months ahead.
I speak at public libraries free of charge because I owe so much to the public library system. I charge expenses, and since I travel from London and do not drive, this can involve hotel stays depending on distance. As for paid bookings, please contact me as early as you can.
I absolutely love talking to bloggers, vloggers, conventions and events organisers, but get in touch as far in advance as you can.