Christopher James Stone (born 16 June 1953), pen name C.J. Stone, is an English author, journalist and

freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

. He is best known for his columns in ''

The Guardian Weekend ''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 ...

'' and ''

The Big Issue ''The Big Issue'' is a United Kingdom–based street newspaper founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991 and published in four continents. ''The Big Issue'' is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer ho ...

''. In 1971, he moved to Cardiff where he attended

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

and studied

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

, however, he dropped out after two years without completing his course. In 1981, he resumed his academic studies at

Bristol Polytechnic The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of higher education in t ...

(now the University of the West of England) where he gained a 2:1 degree in

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

. In 1984, he moved to

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent, England, at the convergence of the The Swale, Swale and the Greater Thames Estuary, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay, Kent, Herne Bay. The town, formerly known as Whitstable-on-Se ...

, Kent, and has been living there ever since.

Author

Stone first became established as a writer when a column, written by him and entitled: "Housing Benefit Hill", was published by ''The Guardian Weekend'' in September 1993.www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2000/jun/10/weekend7.weekend1
/ref>www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/13/once-upon-a-life-jon-mcgregor
/ref> His editor at the time was Deborah Orr. The column described life on council housing estates throughout Britain and was based around real people that he knew. The column continued for three years, until September 1996, and established him as a newspaper columnist. Having become known for his work in ''

'', he had his first book, ''Fierce Dancing'', accepted for publication in 1996 by

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply 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, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

.www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/c-j-+stone/fierce+dancing/7207378/
– Waterstones: Fierce Dancing It was to define what the author became known for writing about: the counter culture of contemporary Britain and its protesters, hippies, punks, neo-pagans, ravers and New Age travellers.

Publications

Books

* ''Fierce Dancing Adventures in the Underground'' (1996) published by Faber & Faber. * ''Last of the Hippies'' (1999) published by Faber & Faber. * ''Housing Benefit Hill'' (2001) published by

AK Press AK Press is a workers' self-management, worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specializes in publishing books about anarchism and the Far-left politics, radical left. Operated out of Chico, California, United States, ...

– a collection of stories that had previously appeared in his column. * ''The Trials of Arthur'' (2003) published by Element Books and co-written with

Arthur Pendragon According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Rom ...

– telling the story of the life of the eco-warrior and self-proclaimed Druid king (co-author).

Articles

Stone has had regular columns in ''The Guardian Weekend'' and has contributed to ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', ''

The London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Boo ...

'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', ''

The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' newspapers, ''The Big Issue'',www.barefootintocyberspace.com/book/hypertext/
/ref> ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', ''

Prediction A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dictum'', "something said") or forecast is a statement about a future event or about future data. Predictions are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge of forecasters. There ...

'', '' Kindred Spirit'', ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

'' and ''Saga'' magazines. He currently writes for the ''Whitstable Gazette''.

Radio and Television

Stone wrote columns for a BBC Radio 4 programme called '' the Afternoon Shift'', featuring Laurie Taylor who now runs ''

Thinking Allowed ''Thinking Allowed'' is a radio discussion programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday afternoons between 16:00 and 16:30 and repeated between 00:15 and 00:45 on Monday mornings. It focuses on the latest social science research and is hosted ...

''. He was also the writer for a BBC2 TV programme called ''Let's Face The Music and Dance'', which was aired on 15 June 1994, about the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill.

References

other references. www.tvcabbage.net/2010/03/on-huge-anti-criminal-justice-bill.html
– involvement with the Criminal Justice Bill in 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, C. J. 1953 births Living people People from Whitstable English writers