Niel Bushnell (born 1970) is an English writer and artist from

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

. He is the author of the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series, ''The Arkship Saga'', and children's

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novels ''Sorrowline'' and ''Timesmith'', the first two books in ''The Timesmith Chronicles'' series, published in the UK by

Andersen Press Andersen Press is a British book publishing company. It was founded in 1976 by Klaus Flugge, and was named after Hans Christian Andersen "because it is easier to pronounce and spell than Flugge". Random House has a holding in the company and a ...

. He is the co-founder of animation studio Qurios Entertainment.

Life and career

Niel Bushnell was born in

, England. Bushnell collaborated with school friend, Gordon Fraser, to create the newspaper comic strip, ''The Funny Farm'', later retitled Farmageddon. The strip ran for 18 months in the

Hartlepool Mail The ''Hartlepool Mail'' is a newspaper serving Hartlepool, England and the surrounding area. History The paper was founded in Hartlepool in 1877 as ''The Northern Daily Mail'' and continued to be printed in the town until August 2006, when the ...

. Later Bushnell developed ''Farmageddon'' as an animated project.

Animation & illustration

An early interest in comics, notably ''Star Wars Weekly'', encouraged Bushnell to draw and write his own comic strips. In 1990 he published and contributed to the small press comic ''Over The Edge''. In 1993 Bushnell contributed artwork to the Marvel UK comic ''The Incomplete Death's Head''. Since 1994 Bushnell has worked as an animator. His credits include a variety of roles on feature films including ''

Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel Weingrod. The first film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation ...

'', ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 J ...

'' and ''

Felidae Felidae ( ) is the Family (biology), family of mammals in the Order (biology), order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is also called a felid ( ). The 41 extant taxon, extant Felidae species exhibit the gre ...

''. In 2002 Bushnell and his wife, Diane, established their own animation studio, Qurios Entertainment, in their home town of Hartlepool. As well as producing animation for commercials Qurios has a string of TV credits, including '' Hyperdrive'', '' Spooks'', ''

Tracy Beaker Returns ''Tracy Beaker Returns'' is a British television programme. Based upon the novels by Jacqueline Wilson, it is the sequel series to '' The Story of Tracy Beaker''. The series stars Dani Harmer reprising her role as protagonist Tracy Beaker. Th ...

'', and ''

The Dumping Ground ''The Dumping Ground'' (also informally referred to as ''The DG'') is a Television in the United Kingdom, British children's television series, children's television drama series that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people who ...

''. Qurios later merged with Dene Films, a

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

based live action production company where Bushnell was Animation Director until 2013. Bushnell was Co-Producer (with Chris Chapman) of two animated episodes of the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' story ''

The Ice Warriors ''The Ice Warriors'' is the partly missing third serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 11 November to 16 December 1967. In this serial, the ...

'', which was released on DVD in August 2013. In 2018 Bushnell contributed new animation and visual effects to the ''Doctor Who'' story ''

Revenge of the Cybermen ''Revenge of the Cybermen'' is the fifth and final serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 April to 10 May 1975. It was the first ...

'' for the season 12 blu-ray release. Since then, Bushnell has produced new animation, graphics and visual effects for the Season 14 story ''

The Talons of Weng-Chiang ''The Talons of Weng-Chiang'' is the sixth and final serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 26 February to 2 April 1977. In the serial ...

'', the Season 18 story ''

Logopolis ''Logopolis'' is the seventh and final serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 28 February to 21 March 1981. The serial is set on th ...

'', Season 19's '' Castrovalva'', and

The Five Doctors "The Five Doctors" is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago ...

for Season 20. Bushnell was an Academic Tutor in Animation and Games Art at the

University of Sunderland The University of Sunderland is a public research university located in Sunderland in the North East of England. Its predecessor, Sunderland Technical College, was established as a municipal training college in 1901. It gained university status ...

before joining

The Northern School of Art The Northern School of Art is a further and higher education art and design college, based in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool in the north-east of England. The college was called Cleveland College of Art and Design after the former non-metrop ...

in 2019 as the Programme Leader for Illustration for Commercial Application. He is currently the Cinematic Discipline Lead for Atomhawk Design.

Writing

Having written all his life, Bushnell began work in 2009 on what became his first novel, ''Sorrowline''. Bushnell submitted the first 30 pages of ''Sorrowline'' into the 2011 Northern Writers Awards, an annual event organised New Writing North, a development agency for creative writing and creative reading based in the north east of England. Bushnell received a Northern Promise Award and ''Sorrowline'' was quickly picked up for publication by

in the United Kingdom, Heyne in Germany and by Pensamento-Cultrix in Brazil. Sorrowline was one of twenty nine début novels for children long-listed for the Brandford Boase Award 2014. In March 2017 Bushnell became the first Writer in Residence at The Word, the National Centre for the Written Word in South Shields. Bushnell wrote and directed the live-action comedy short DCSS, a film made as part of Tees Valley Screen's Microshorts project, He has also written a

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, prod ...

audio book for

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

, released in November 2020, and several Doctor Who audiobooks.

Campaigning and Charitable work

In December 2015 Bushnell, along with

Michael Chaplin (writer) Michael Chaplin (born 1951 in County Durham) is an English theatre, radio, television and non-fiction writer and former television producer and executive. He grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne where he now lives and works again. After graduating ...

and

Ian McMillan (poet) Ian McMillan (born 21 January 1956) is an English poet, journalist, playwright, and broadcaster. He is known for his strong and distinctive Yorkshire accent and his incisive, friendly interview style on programmes such as BBC Radio 3's ''The V ...

, was appointed to the Board of trustees of

New Writing North New Writing North, set up in 1996, is an Arts Council England agency based in the North of England to support writers in the region. History New Writing North was established in 1996 in Newcastle upon Tyne, working with writers across the Nort ...

. Bushnell is also a member of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

and, in October 2016, was appointed Chair of the Authors North subgroup events committee. In 2019, he joined the Society of Authors Scriptwriters Group committee. As well as supporting writing through his voluntary work with the Society of Authors and New Writing North, Bushnell has been involved in several projects to highlight and promote his hometown of

and the north-east region of England. He has often campaigned to promote his home town of Hartlepool and, in 2003, was one of a small number of local businesses who joined to launch the Enterprising Hartlepool campaign, attending events and roadshows across the region. The campaign culminated in a visit to the Houses of Parliament and an opportunity to promote Hartlepool to MPs and national business leaders as a good place for business. Bushnell was one of several north-east business owners who featured prominently in the ''Passionate People, Passionate Places'' campaign to promote the north-east of England. The campaign ran from 2005 for several years and featured promotional posters in train stations, London tube stations and in local and national press. In 2006, Bushnell lent his support to a campaign by Hartlepool businesses to get a direct rail link to London. In December 2007, Grand Central Railway began a daily service to the capital. In 2017, he joined the Tees Valley Digital Strategy Board to help to drive forward the Tees Valley's technology industries. Bushnell has raised money for

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

and the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

by participating in the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the AJ Bell Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shie ...

in 2007 and 2008, the Great Edinburgh Run in 2009 and the Great North 10k Run in 2009.

Works

The Timesmith Chronicles

*''Sorrowline'' (2013) *''Timesmith'' (2014)

The Arkship Saga

*''Arkship Obsidian'' (2017) *''Arkship Vengeance'' (2017) *''Arkship Alliance'' (2018) *''Arkship Conquest'' (2018) *''Arkship Prophecy'' (2019) *''Arkship Encounters'' (2021) - a collection of short stories set before the events of Arkship Obsidian *''Arkship Omega'' (2022)

Doctor Who

*''Doctor Who: The Ashes of Eternity'' (2021) 9th Doctor Audio Original for BBC Digital Audio *''Doctor Who: The Ice Kings'' (2023) 12th Doctor Audio Original for BBC Digital Audio *''Doctor Who: The Romanov Project'' (2023) 13th Doctor Audio Original for BBC Digital Audio *''Doctor Who: On Ghost Beach'' (2024) 15th Doctor Audio Original for BBC Digital Audio

The Tail of Tobin Artichoke

*''Tobin Artichoke and the Asylum of Atlantis'' (2018) - short story *''Tobin Artichoke and the Queen of Heaven'' (2018)

Other works

*''Altitude'' (2017) *''Blake's 7: Chosen'' (2020) audiobook produced by

*''The Worlds of Blake's 7: Avalon Volume 02'' (2021) Audio drama for

*''The Death of Day'' (2024)

Short stories

*''Scissors'' (2015) Commissioned by the

National Literacy Trust The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity (registered no. 1116260 in England and Wales and registered no. SCO42944 in Scotland) based in London, England, that promotes literacy. It was founded by Sir Simon Hornby, former chairman of ...

*''Would Have, Could Have'' (2017) Commissioned as part of the WRITE Festival programme *''Follow That Ferry'' (2017) Commissioned as part of the WRITE Festival programme.

Awards

*2011 Northern Promise Award for ''Sorrowline'', awarded at the Northern Writers' Awards. *2021 Europa Gold Award - Best Unproduced Screenplay for ''The Waiting Room'', awarded at the L.A. Sci-Fi Film Awards.

References

External links

NielBushnell.com
Official site * *
Niel Bushnell at Andersen PressNiel Bushnell at Amazon.co.ukNiel Bushnell on the British comedy Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushnell, Niel 1970 births 21st-century English novelists Artists from County Durham British Book Award winners English animators English children's writers English comics artists English comics writers English fantasy writers English male novelists English male short story writers English short story writers English science fiction writers Living people People from Hartlepool Writers from County Durham 21st-century English short story writers 21st-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers