Chris Nickson (born 1954) is a British writer, novelist, music journalist, and biographer.

Biography

Nickson was born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, but lived in the United States from the age of 21, returning to the UK in 2005. As a music journalist, he specialised in world and roots music. For several years he wrote a regular column for ''

Global Rhythm ''Global Rhythm'' was a former New York-based monthly music and lifestyle magazine featuring coverage of world music, film, cuisine and travel. It was published monthly and circulated across North America, Europe and hundreds of other locations w ...

'' magazine, and wrote ''The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to World Music''. He contributes interviews and reviews to several music magazines and websites. He has written biographies of celebrities including

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

, Soundgarden

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

David Duchovney and

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film '' Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey ...

. His biography of the late singer-songwriter John Martyn, ''Solid Air'', published in 2006 was published as an ebook and as a paperback in June 2011. In 2010, Nickson published his first novel, ''The Broken Token'', set in Leeds in 1731. The next novel in the series, ''Cold Cruel Winter'' was published in the UK in May 2011 (September in the US), with the third, ''The Constant Lovers'', published in 2012. All are part of the now longer Richard Nottingham series in the historical fiction/mystery genre. In May 2018, the Richard Nottingham series consisted of eight books, with ''Free from All Danger'' the most recent (published in February 2018). Two books take place in Leeds in the 1950s: ''Dark Briggate Blues'' (2015) and its sequel, ''The New Eastgate Swing'' (2016); both feature private investigator Dan Markham. Nickson's DI Tom Harper series which takes place in Leeds in the 1890s, now includes six books, with ''Tin God'' the most recent (published March 2018). According to

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

, this is "an excellent character-driven oliceprocedural". Both series are published by Severn House. The Chesterfield series, published by The History Press, which takes place in England of the 1360s, consisted of three books. Another series, featuring WPC Lottie Armstrong in Leeds of the 20th Century, includes two books, ''Modern Crimes'', published in September 2017 and ''The Year of the Gun'', in February 2018 by The History Press . Nickson's Web site discusses two other books published by The History Press, ''The Dead on Leave'' which takes place in England in 1936 and features war veteran Detective Sergeant Urban Raven and ''The Hanging Psalm'', the first in a new series, featuring Simon Westow, a thief-taker in Leeds in 1820. Nickson also mentions the Seattle Mysteries, ''Emerald City'' and ''West Seattle Blues'', featuring music journalist Laura Benton, available as audio books and e-books. Most of Nickson's novels are set in and around Leeds. In 2015, he completed ''Leeds, the Biography: A History of Leeds in Short Stories'' which was published by Armley Press.

References

Bibliography

Biographies

*''Soundgarden: New Metal Crown'' (1995), St. Martin's Griffin, *''Mariah Carey: Her Story'' (1995), St. Martin's Griffin, *''Brad Pitt'' (1995), St. Martin's Paper, *''Go, Ricki!'' (1996), Avon Books, *''Keanu Reeves'' (1996), St. Martin's Paper, *''Denzel Washington'' (1996), St. Martin's Paper, *''The X-Factor: The Unauthorized Biography of X-Files Superstar David Duchovny'' (1996), Avon Books, *''Emma: The Many Faces of Emma Thompson'' (1997), Taylor Publishing, *''Melissa Etheridge'' (1997), St. Martin's Griffin, *''Mariah Carey Revisited: The Unauthorized Biography'' (1998), St. Martin's Griffin, *''Superhero: A Biography of Christopher Reeve'' (1999), Macmillan, *''Ewan McGregor: An Unauthorized Biography'' (1999), Perigee, *''Will Smith'' (1999), St. Martin's Paper, *''Lauryn Hill: She's Got That Thing'' (1999), St. Martin's Paper, *''David Boreanaz: An Unauthorized Biography'' (1999), St. Martin's Paper, *''Matt Damon: An Unauthorized Biography'' (1999), Renaissance Books, *''Ozzy Knows Best: The Amazing Story of Ozzy Osbourne'' (2002), St. Martin's Griffin, *''Hey Ya!: The Unauthorized Biography of Outkast'' (2004), St. Martin's Griffin, *''Usher: The Godson of Soul'' (2005), Simon Spotlight, *''Solid Air: The Life of John Martyn'' (2011), Liaison Music, Ltd.,

Music

*''The NPR Curious Reader's Guide to World Music'' (2004), Macmillan, *''Emerald City (Audible Audio Edition)'' (2013), Creative Content Ltd., ASIN B00C3VAMY8 *''West Seattle Blues (Audible Audio Edition)'' (2014), Creative Content Ltd. *''Emerald City (eBook Edition)'' (2013), Creative Content Ltd., *''West Seattle Blues (eBook Edition)'' (2014), Creative Content Ltd.

Historical Mysteries

*''The Crooked Spire'' (2013), The History Press, The following works are set in 1730s

and feature Richard Nottingham, Constable of the city. *''The Broken Token'' (2010), Creme de la Crime, *''Cold Cruel Winter'' (2011), Creme de la Crime, *''The Constant Lovers'' (2012), Creme de la Crime, *''Come the Fear'' (2012), Creme de la Crime, *''At the Dying of the Year'' (2013), Creme de la Crime, *''Convalescence (Kindle Edition)'' (2013), Amazon Digital Services, ASIN B00E0F9JJ4 *''Fair and Tender Ladies'' (2014), Creme de la Crime, {{DEFAULTSORT:Nickson, Chris British biographers Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period British historical novelists 1954 births Living people Celebrity biographers