Ian wrote his first story when he was five and has written ever since. Although he carried on writing after graduating from university with an English degree, ‘life’ got in the way and Ian’s output was sporadic and of variable quality. However, in the mid-1990s he managed to complete his first full-length work of fiction, and then at the turn of the century combined his love of writing with professional work experience to write three books on IT Strategy.

Fiction and Poetry remained Ian’s first love, however, and subsequently he found his fire for creative writing again. This, combined with the discovery of Indie-publishing, led him to create Coverstory books, a venture spurring him on to publish both his own material and provide a publication vehicle for others. In early 2025 the overall Coverstory books’ list contains 58 volumes: fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction, and anthologies.

He performed his long poetic monologue, Crash, at the 2023 Ripon Theatre Festival, and Market Rasen’s ‘Wordfest’ in 2024. Published in various anthologies and winner of a 2022 short story competition, he also mentors at writing retreats.

“Perhaps first and foremost I consider myself a writer of fiction. I’m fascinated by how people relate to their histories, the decisions they take, the relationships they have. Our past informs our present and steers our future — whether we like it or not.

“Of course these days it can be hard to be ‘just one thing’, especially if your experience covers multiple writing-related genres and interests. And therefore — in order to be true to myself and honest with you — I also need to confess that I am a sometime poet, creative writing mentor, and Indie Publisher.

You can find me at iangouge.substack.com.”