Jonathan Otter Self (born 11 March 1959 in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London) is an English author and journalist.

Early life

Self was raised in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London. His father was the British journalist and academic Peter Self. His mother, Elaine (born Rosenbloom), was American and worked in publishing. His brother,

Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English writer, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Se ...

, is a novelist and broadcaster.

Career

Self began his career as an advertising copywriter and in 1982 founded Self Direct, a direct-marketing agency. He sold the business in 1993. In 2001, Self published an autobiography, ''Self Abuse''. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' stated that Self "is a talented writer with an extraordinary family history to relate. He catalogues the failings of a family so dysfunctional and cruel that even with his talent for sardonic one-liners the tone is one of unrelenting despair." A humour column in ''

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 ...

'' offered a one-line summary of the book: "The brother of the more famous Will ODs in therapy and splurges the results over 247 pages". Self has since written a number of other books, including ''The Teenagers Guide to Money'' which was ranked as the #5 best investing book for teens by a UK financial education website. He has contributed regularly to the British media including ''Country Life'', ''

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and ''

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 2009 he collaborated with

Arabella Lennox-Boyd Arabella Lennox-Boyd, Lady Lennox-Boyd (née Parisi) is an Italian-born English garden designer. Background Arabella Lennox-Boyd was born in Rome and grew up there and at Palazzo Parisi, Oliveto, their family home. She later settled in England w ...

on "Welcome to Dream Acres", a '' Country Life'' series about landscape gardening. He is one of the founders of Honey's, an ethical

dog food Dog food is specifically formulated food intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of carn ...

company, which is the subject of one of his books. Self acts as a Special Adviser to the

World Land Trust World Land Trust is a UK registered charity. Acting on its tagline of "Saving Land, Saving Species", the trust raises money to buy and then protect environmentally-threatened land, and therefore species, in Africa, Asia, and Central and South A ...

, an environmental charity. In 2016, he made a Radio 4 Charity Appeal on behalf of

Room to Read In a building or a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure. The entrance connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors. The space is t ...

. Self is now a trustee of the

Rainforest Trust Rainforest Trust is a US-based nonprofit environmental organization focused on the purchase and protection of tropical lands to strategically conserve threatened species. Founded in 1988, Rainforest Trust was formerly known as World Parks Endowme ...

Personal life

Self is married. He and his wife Rose have seven children between them.

Works

*''Self Abuse'' (John Murray, 2001), a memoir *''The Teenager's Guide to Money'' (Quercus, 2007), a personal finance guide for teenagers *''Honey's Natural Feeding Handbook for Dogs'' (Mammoth, 2012), a guide to diets for dogs *''Emerald'' (Thames & Hudson, 2013), a guide to the world's emerald trade *''Good Money'' (Head of Zeus, 2017), a guide on how to become an ethical entrepreneur

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Self, Jonathan Living people 1959 births English male journalists Jonathan