Stevyn Colgan

Infobox Writer
name = Stevyn Colgan


birthname = Stephen Mark Colgan
birthdate = Birth date and age|1961|8|11|df=yes
birthplace = London, England
occupation = Writer and Artist
genre = Humorous Non-Fiction, Trivia
website = http://www.stevecolgan.com/

Stevyn Colgan (born August 11, 1961) is a British writer and artist. Colgan's first book "Joined-Up Thinking" was published on October 3 2008.

Family

Colgan was born on 11 August, 1961. His father was Myghal Colgan (1940-1991), a former police officer and writer. He has two younger brothers both of whom live in Cornwall.

Early life

Colgan was born in London. His father joined the Metropolitan Police Force in 1958 and married Margaret Dawe, his Cornish fiance in 1959. The family moved back to Cornwall in 1963 and Stevyn was educated at Blackwater Infants School near Truro, St Marys School, Penzance, St Pauls County primary School, Penzance and Helston Comprehensive School, Helston. He joined the Metropolitan Police Force in 1980 at the age of 18.

Police Career

Colgan served in Hillingdon, Westminster and Ealing Borough stations as well as with Clubs and Vice, IT Training and the force's Examinations Unit. In his later career he became a training designer and a problem solving advisor. This involved getting the police, the community and other statutory agencies (such as local authorities, Fire Service etc.) to work together to solve long-term community disorder and crime issues. He was awarded the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in 1993 and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003. He saw active service during many of the public disorders of the 1980s including the Miners' Strike, the riots in Brixton, Southall and Broadwater Farm. He was also present at many large scale public events including Live Aid, the Notting Hill Carnival, the visit of Pope John Paul II and the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. He was one of the first officers on scene at the IRA bomb attack on RAF Uxbridge in 1981 for which he received a commendation.

Art Career

Colgan first published illustration work was for the book "I Remember: Reflections on Fishing and Childhood" (Summersdale 1995) by Joe Cowley, Frederick Forsyth, Roger Daltrey, Bernard Cribbens, George Melly and others. The book raised money for the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Later that same year, he painted the front cover to Aaron Jones' self-published novel "The Wayfarer: Bilbabalbabul".

It was not until 2006 that he again drew professionally, this time a set of illustrations for use on posters, banners and catalogues for the Autumn National Children's Book Fair organised by Scholastic Books Ltd.

In November 2008, he illustrated several features for the "2009 QI Annual".

Writing Career

Colgan's first break into writing came with his 1997 pantomime "Beeping Slooty", which was performed by many amateur dramatics groups and schools throughout the UK. He directed the very first performances by the Totteridge Arts and Drama Society in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

In 1998, Colgan, James Murphy, Sarwat Chadda, Dan Schaffer, Jeremy Elford and Kelvin Cox attempted to launch a new independent British comics imprint called "Bigger Betty". Its purpose was to provide a platform for new British artists and writers. Despite good sales and excellent reviews, funding problems caused the imprint to fold after just one issue.

In 2001, he was a runner-up in the prestigious BBC Travel Writing Awards organised by "BBC Wildlife Magazine".

Also in 2001, he was a successful entrant to the Ottakar's Bookshops Local History Writers' competition and had his essay, "Arch Rivals", published in the "Ottakar's Local History: High Wycombe" Book.

In October 2008, his first major work, "Joined-Up Thinking", was published by Pan Macmillan Books. It carried cover endorsements from Stephen Fry and from John Mitchinson, one of the founders of Quite Interesting Ltd.

In November 2009, several written pieces appeared in the "2009 QI Annual".

Other Information

Colgan is a keen songwriter and plays guitar and drums. He is a collector of vinyl art toys and a passionate long-time "Doctor Who" fan. He has a keen interest in the sciences and in evolutionary science in particular.

He is an atheist.

He has a tattoo of the Cornish flag on his right arm and has three nipples.

His professional name is the Cornish spelling of Stephen. His father's name is the Cornish spelling of Michael.

He is married, has three children in their twenties and two grandchildren.

In recent years he has been a visiting lecturer in metacognition at St Bartholemew's Teaching Hospital and the London University. He also works closely with the training company "Sixth Sense".

He holds the Certificate in Education from the University of Hertfordshire. In 1999 he was awarded the Diploma in plain English by Plain English Campaign.

Bibliography

* Joined-Up Thinking (2008)

References

External Links

* [http://www.stevecolgan.com/ Stevyn Colgan's Web site]
* [http://stevyncolgan.blogspot.com The Unbearable oddness of Stevyn Blog]
* [http://joinedupthinking.ning.com The Joined-Up Thinkers' Network]