Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and writer.

Early life

Cooke was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England, and is the daughter of a university lecturer in botany and a biology teacher. She went to school in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

, Israel, until she was 11 years old, before returning to Sheffield, where she attended Tapton School, then studied at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Career

Cooke began her career as a reporter for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. She has also written for the ''

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 ...

'', where she is television critic, and is a writer for ''

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'' ...

'' newspaper. In the " Lost Booker Prize" for 1970, announced in March 2010, Cooke was one of the three judges. Since 2010, Cooke has been reviewing

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

s for ''

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 ...

''s "Graphic novel of the month". Cooke's first book, ''Her Brilliant Career: Ten Extraordinary Women of the Fifties'', was published in autumn 2013, Katharine Whitehorn wrote in ''

'' that "this excellent book should go far towards setting the record straight" about women's increasing experience of having professional careers rather than being confined to a life as a housewife as accounts of the 1950s commonly assume. Amanda Craig wrote in ''

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 ...

'' that Cooke's "writing does not delve deep but is eloquent, concise, fair-minded, witty and elegant."

Awards

In 2006, Cooke was named Interviewer of the Year at the

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named Ha ...

and Feature Writer of the Year at the '' What the Papers Say'' Awards. In 2010, she was named Writer of the Year at the PPA Awards for her interviews in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

''.

Personal life

Cooke is married to the film critic and novelist Anthony Quinn, and lives in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, London.

Bibliography

* * ''Kitchen Person'' ( Orion, 2023)

References

External links

Rachel Cooke's contributor page
''The Guardian/Observer'' website
Contributor page
''New Statesman'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Rachel 1969 births Living people 20th-century British journalists 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British journalists 21st-century British women writers Alumni of the University of Oxford New Statesman people The Observer people Writers from Sheffield