Brian Viner (born 25 October 1961) is an English journalist and author. Viner was born to an unmarried mother at the now demolished Royal Northern Hospital, London, and was adopted by a couple in

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

when a few weeks old. He met his birth parents for the first time in the 1990s. He was educated at King George V School, Southport, then at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

. In 1985/6 he was a Robert T. Jones Scholar at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1994 to 1999 Viner wrote for the ''

Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...

''. In 1997 he won a '' What the Papers Say'' Award for his work as the paper's television critic. He was a columnist on ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' from January 1999 to December 2011, and then turned freelance, writing for numerous national newspapers, including the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'', ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...

'', the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Tele ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' and the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

''. At ''The Independent'', he was principally a sports writer, and "The Brian Viner Interview" with a well-known sporting figure became the longest-running weekly interview in British newspaper journalism. He has been shortlisted multiple times as Interviewer of the Year in the British Press Awards and the Sports Journalism Awards. In October 2013, Viner became film critic of the ''Daily Mail'', succeeding Christopher Tookey. He is the author of seven books, all non-fiction. Viner's most recently published book, "Looking For The Toffees", is an account of his teen years following Everton FC, in which he goes in search of his childhood heroes. Prior to that, he wrote ''The Good, The Dad and The Ugly: The Trials of Fatherhood'', published in May 2013. Of his earlier books, ''Tales of the Country'' and its sequel ''The Pheasants' Revolt'' recount the story of his, and his family's, move from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. ''Ali, Pele, Lillee & Me: A Personal Odyssey Through the Sporting Seventies'' recalls his childhood as a sports enthusiast,BOOK REVIEW: LIFE WITH SPORTING ICONS OF THE 70S
", iomtoday.co.im, 12 April 2007, retrieved 2011-11-12 and ''Nice To See It, To See It Nice: The Seventies in Front of the Telly'' is similarly a memoir, but about

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. His book ''Cream Teas, Traffic Jams and Sunburn: The Great British Holiday'' was voted Travel Book of the Year in The 2011 British Travel Press Awards. In 2010 ''Tales of the Country'' was adapted for the stage by the Pentabus Theatre Company.Bringing townies’ rural dream to life
", ''Hereford Times'', 8 April 2010, retrieved 2011-11-12 He is married to the novelist Jane Sanderson; the couple have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viner, Brian 1961 births Alumni of the University of St Andrews Emory University faculty English adoptees English male journalists Living people People from Southport The Independent people