Robert Wringham

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Robert Wringham
Robert Wringham photographed by Alan Dimmick in 2015
Robert Wringham photographed
by Alan Dimmick in 2015
BornRobert Westwood
1982 (age 38–39)
Dudley, England
OccupationAuthor, Comedian
CitizenshipBritish citizen
Resident of Canada
Period2007–present
GenreHumor
Notable worksNew Escapologist (2007–2017);
A Loose Egg (2014)
Spouse
Samara
​
(m. 2014)​
Website
wringham.co.uk

Robert Wringham (born Robert Westwood; 28 November 1982) is a British writer, best known as the editor of New Escapologist magazine.[1] His first collection, A Loose Egg, was shortlisted for the 2015 Leacock Medal.[2][3]

Work[]

Robert Wringham is a humorist.[4] In an article for the one-hundredth edition of Canadian Notes and Queries, he expressed a desire to be known as "the waster humorist."[5] He also conveyed a belief in the social value of comic literature and an admiration for the work of Eric Nicol, Susan Juby, Paul Quarrington and Stuart McLean.

Wringham was the founder of New Escapologist, a lifestyle magazine that ran from 2007 to 2017. The magazine advocated the escape from employment and some notable contributors were Alain de Botton, Will Self, Richard Herring, Ewan Morrison, Tom Hodgkinson, Luke Rhinehart and Caitlin Doughty. Wringham continues the magazine "out of love or maybe habit"[6] as a newsletter and blog.

In 2012, Go Faster Stripe published Wringham's first non-fiction book You Are Nothing,[7] which told the story of comedy troupe Cluub Zarathustra,[8] whose members included Stewart Lee, Simon Munnery, Kevin Eldon, Julian Barratt, Graham Linehan, Sally Phillips and Johnny Vegas.[9][10] The book is written from Wringham's outsider perspective and draws on conflicting interviews with cast and audience members.[11]

2014 saw the publication of A Loose Egg, a collection of short pieces about Wringham's childhood, bachelorhood and early married life. In 2015, it was longlisted and finally shortlisted for the Leacock Medal.[12][13]

In 2015, Wringham crowdfunded a New Escapologist-related book with publisher Unbound[14] and the resulting Escape Everything! was released in 2016. A German edition called Ich Bin Raus was published in the same year and attracted considerable media attention.[15][16][17][18][19][20] A follow-up title was commissioned called The Good Life for Wage Slaves, published by Heyne Verlag in Germany and independently in the UK. When Unbound republished Escape Everything! as a paperback in 2021, it was retitled I'm Out: How to Make an Exit, a change Wringham did not care for.[21][22]

He wrote a second humour collection (and returned to Go Faster Stripe)[23] with Stern Plastic Owl in 2021, explaining "I just want to write some carefree books for a special coterie of smartypantses," while announcing a first novel.[24]

Wringham writes for Joshua Glenn's pop culture website HiLobrow,[25] and had a column in the Idler magazine between 2016 and 2020.[26][27]

Books[]

  • You Are Nothing (2012) ISBN 978-0-9560901-2-6
  • A Loose Egg (2014) ISBN 978-0-9939318-0-2
  • Escape Everything! (2016) ISBN 978-1783521333
  • I'm Out: How to Make an Exit (retitled paperback edition) (2021) ISBN 9781783529599
  • The Good Life for Wage Slaves (2020) ISBN 978-1910631010
  • Stern Plastic Owl (2021) ISBN 978-0-9560901-9-5
  • Rub-a-Dub-Dub (announced)[28]

Pseudonym[]

His pseudonym comes from James Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner.[29]

In The Good Life for Wage Slaves, Wringham explains that he'd been blogging under his original name since his early twenties but became self-conscious and in need of creative freedom when googling people became a common practice: "I didn't mind exposing my soul to a few strange nerds on the other side of the planet, but a certain dishonesty is required among friends, isn't it?"[30]

Personal life[]

Originally from Dudley, Wringham moved to Glasgow in 2004.[31] He is also a Resident of Canada.[32][33]

In 2014 he married his long-term partner Samara, who appears as a foil in some of his writing.[34]

References[]

  1. ^ Penguin Authors: Robert Wringham Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  2. ^ 2015 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour shortlist revealed CBC. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  3. ^ Terry Fallis Wins 2015 Leacock Humour Award Toronto Star. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  4. ^ Profile: Robert Wringham British Comedy Guide.
  5. ^ Journey to Orillia. Canadian Notes and Queries, No. 100. 2017.
  6. ^ If you don't know the story... Twitter
  7. ^ Robert Wringham - You Are Nothing Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  8. ^ You Are Nothing by Robert Wringham: book review by Steve Bennett Chortle. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  9. ^ Robert Wringham - You Are Nothing The List. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  10. ^ Cluub Zarathustra: where British comedy was reborn Telegraph. 5 July 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  11. ^ Episode 8: Stewart Lee Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast
  12. ^ Author wins Leacock Medal for Humour for second time Orillia Packet and Times. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  13. ^ Leacock humour shortlist unveiled in Orillia Simco.com. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  14. ^ Escape Everything! Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  15. ^ Weniger Arbeit, Mehr Sex Sueddeutsche Zeitung. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  16. ^ Robert Wringham verrät: So sprengen Sie die Fesseln der Arbeitswelt Focus. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  17. ^ Raus aus der Falle Wie man der Arbeit und dem Konsum entkommt Berliner Zeitung. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  18. ^ "Putzen ist vergnüglich, wenn man es richtig sieht" Der Standard. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  19. ^ Der Roboter Kommen Aspecte, (ZDF). 16 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  20. ^ Sachbücher und Themen Kontext. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  21. ^ I’m Out: How to Make an Exit by Robert Wringham Writing.ie
  22. ^ Take this job and... keep it? New Escapologist January 2021
  23. ^ Michael Legge to publish his first book: one of three new titles from indie label Go Faster Stripe Chortle. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  24. ^ Coming Attractions Wringham.co.uk
  25. ^ Posts by Robert Wringham HiLoBrow. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  26. ^ Idler 48-70
  27. ^ Office Nightmares Idler. 11 November 2020.
  28. ^ Coming Attractions Wringham.co.uk
  29. ^ What is Robert Wringham? Wringham.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  30. ^ The Good Life for Wage Slaves (2020)
  31. ^ What is Robert Wringham? Wringham.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  32. ^ I'm not an employee by nature. Nobody is New Escapologist. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  33. ^ Avoiding Modern Life Mongrel p22. 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  34. ^ Day of the Coconut Wringham.co.uk. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2016.

External links[]

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