Andy Martin is a British author and academic. He is a regular contributor to

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

programmes and sometimes writes for "The Stone" and "Opinionator" columns in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. He has also written articles for the web broadcasting service

SBS Broadcasting Group SBS Broadcasting Group (SBS), formerly Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems, was a European multinational media group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Cen ...

. He scripted and produced the short film "Once Upon a Time in New York" in collaboration with Moving Content and likewise "MML the Movie: Languages at Cambridge", directed by

Will Frears Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and w ...

with Norman Lomax. Both films feature original soundtracks by brothers Jack and Spencer Martin. He is the inventor of Becksistentialism ("Existentialism with a very cool haircut"), inspired by

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending f ...

's stint at

Paris St Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As ...

in 2013 and featured at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

's Festival of Ideas. His essay "The FBI Files on Being and Nothingness" was published by

Prospect Magazine ''Prospect'' is a monthly British general-interest magazine, specialising in politics, economics and current affairs. Topics covered include British and other European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the medi ...

and based on a lecture given at the Maison française,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

, New York, as part of its centenary celebrations.

Writer

Martin is the author of several books, including ''Beware Invisible Cows'' (described by ''

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 publishe ...

'' newspaper as 'a fantastic intellectual voyage, a real eye-opener'), ''Stealing the Wave'' (

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

, 2007), '' Napoleon the Novelist'' (

Polity A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...

, 2001), ''Waiting for Bardot'' (

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

, 1996) and ''Walking on Water'' ( John Murray and Minerva, 1992). ''Walking on Water'', Martin's first book on surfing, rapidly became a cult classic and was short-listed for the

William Hill Sports Book of the Year The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports literary award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. The award is dedicated to rewarding excellence in sports writing. It was first awarded in 1989, and was devised by Graham ...

, 1991. ''Stealing the Wave: the epic struggle between

Ken Bradshaw Ken Bradshaw (born October 4, 1952) is an American professional surfer and winner of the 1982 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship. Bradshaw was born in Houston, Texas. On January 28, 1998, Bradshaw successfully towed into and rode ...

and

Mark Foo Mark Sheldon Foo was a professional surfer who favored big wave surfing. Foo drowned while surfing at Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, California, in 1994. Early life Mark Foo was born in Singapore on February 5, 1958, to Colonel Charlie and Lorna ...

'' was described as "the finest sports book I've ever read" (

Steve Bunce Steve Bunce (born 3 December 1962 in Camden Town, London), nicknamed "Buncey", is a British freelance television and radio sport pundit and newspaper columnist. Career He has regularly appeared as a pundit on the BBC sports programme ''Insi ...

, BBC Radio) and an 'Awesome read!' (''

Newcastle Herald The ''Newcastle Herald'' (formerly branded as ''The Herald'') is a local tabloid newspaper published daily, Monday to Saturday, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the only local newspaper that serves the greater Hunter Region and C ...

'', Australia). '' The Telegraph'' newspaper hailed it as a 'terrific book'. Martin was the first surfing correspondent to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' (London) and had the first ever surfing column in a major newspaper in Britain (''

the Independent on Sunday ''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 publish ...

''). Martin led a course in

creative non-fiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction cont ...

at the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Cumper is Ch ...

in November 2009. ''Waiting for Bardot'' was first optioned by

Working Title A working title, which may be abbreviated and styled in trade publications after a putative title as (wt), also called a production title or a tentative title, is the temporary title of a product or project used during its development, usually ...

. It is now scheduled to be made into a feature film directed by

, with shooting to begin in the near future. His latest book, published by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...

in 2012, is ''The Boxer and the Goalkeeper: Sartre vs Camus''. ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pa ...

'' describes it as 'an elegant study, ... one of the most accessible and intelligent books on philosophy I have read this year, as alert to the human drama as the intellectual conflict, and unfailingly observant to the nuances and subtexts'.

Academic life

He has been a lecturer in the department of French at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

since 1990. His PhD is from

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, on the subject of the knowledge of

ignorance Ignorance is a lack of knowledge and understanding. The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or even cognitive dissonance and other cognitive relation, and can describe individuals who are unaware ...

. He has been an associate research fellow at the

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

Center for Historical Analysis and a visiting scholar at

. In 2009 he was awarded a fellowship at the

Cullman Centre for Scholars and Writers Cullman may refer to: * , an attack transport ship that served in the US Navy during World War II * Cullman, Alabama, a city * Cullman County, Alabama, a county ** '' List of Registered Historic Places in Cullman County, Alabama'' * Cullman High S ...

of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

. Martin was interviewed by Cambridge ''

Varsity Varsity may refer to: *University, an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in various academic disciplines Places *Varsity, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Varsity Lakes ...

'' in the May Week issue no. 699 and described as 'something of a whispered myth amongst his many students'.

References

External links

* *
Once Upon a Time in New York

MML the Movie

FBI Files on Being and Nothingness

Phenomenology of Ugly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Andy Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British male writers Alumni of King's College, Cambridge