Ken Whitmore, born

Hanley, Staffordshire Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Hanley is the ''de facto'' city centre, having long been the ...

, December 22, 1937, is a prolific author of radio plays, stage plays, short stories and poetry. His writing is characterised by black comedy and fantastic ideas, such as the complete disappearance of a man’s house, family and dog (''One of Our Commuters is Missing'') and the need for all mankind to jump in the air simultaneously (''Jump!'' - a work which was produced on radio, stage, TV and as a book.) His first radio play in 1974 was ''Haywire at Humbleford Flag'' and there swiftly followed a stream of high-quality radio plays, ending with ''The Final Twist'' (from a stage play written in collaboration with Alfred Bradley.) Whitmore’s adaptations for radio are ''Going Under'' from the novel by the Russian

Lydia Chukovskaya Lydia Korneyevna Chukovskaya ( rus, Ли́дия Корне́евна Чуко́вская, p=ˈlʲidʲɪjə kɐrˈnʲejɪvnə tɕʊˈkofskəjə, a=Lidiya Kornyeyevna Chukovskaya.ru.vorb.oga; – February 7, 1996) was a Soviet writer, poet, ed ...

, a five-part adaptation of '' Brighton Rock'' by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

, and an eight-part adaptation of ''Fame is the Spur'' by

Howard Spring Howard Spring (10 February 1889 – 3 May 1965) was a Welsh author and journalist who wrote in English. He began his writing career as a journalist but from 1934 produced a series of best-selling novels for adults and children. The most su ...

. His published stage plays are ''Jump for Your Life'', ''Pen Friends'', ''La Bolshie Vita'', ''The Final Twist'' and ''The Turn of the Screw'', adapted from the story by

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

. Paul Donovan on TimesOnline quoted Whitmore as saying that his dearest wish was to write a drama that would stop people ironing.

Works for Radio

*''One of our Commuters is Missing'' *''Jump for your life!'' *''The Story of a Penny Suit'' *''Colder Than of Late'' *''Out for the Count'' *''The Caucasian in the Woodpile'' *''Pen Friends'' *''Watch the Forest Grow'' *''The Lackey's Daughter'' *''Always in Love with Amy'' *''A Decent British Murder'' *''The Sport of Angels'' *''The Great Times Crossword Conspiracy'' *''Travelling Hopefully'' *''La Bolshie Vita'' *''Dithering Heights'' *''The Red Telephone Box'' *''The Town that Helped Itself'' *''The Gingerbread House'' (Winner of the

Giles Cooper Award The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chos ...

for best plays radio of the year) *''The Cold Embrace'' *''Winter Music'' *''A Room in Budapest'' *''The Final Twist''

References

External links

Diversity website

Ken Whitmore's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmore, Ken 1937 births British writers Living people People from Hanley, Staffordshire