Congratulations to our Patron Simon Brett on being awarded an OBE for services to literature in the January 2016 New Year’s Honours.
Crime writer Simon has been the Society’s Patron since the inception of the original West Sussex Literary Society. He is not just a figurehead. He not only attends events but often entertains us with his unique blend of wit and humour, especially when chairing the Annual General Meeting.
Simon lives in an Agatha Christie-style village on the South Downs, surely the inspiration for the first of his Fethering series of crime novels, ‘Death on the Downs’.
At Oxford, Simon spent most of his spare time doing theatre. In his final year he was President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society and was involved in writing, directing and performing in revues.
On leaving Oxford he went to work for BBC radio, producing and writing comedy and light drama. He later moved to television and around that time started writing crime novels. The first in the Charles Paris series was published in 1975 and, after four years he felt able to give up the day job and take up writing full time. Since then, as well as the Charles Paris series, he has produced the Mrs Pargeter series and the Fethering mysteries, as well as several stand alone novels.
He is the author of several television and radio series including ‘After Henry’ and ‘No Commitments’ and still writes for radio and the theatre.
He also finds time in his busy writing life to be involved with writing organisations such as the Crime Writers’ Association, the Society of Authors, West Sussex Writers’ Club and, of course, the Chichester Literary Society.