IAN THORNTON
NOVELIST AND PRODUCER
BOOKS...
The Walrus
"Poignant as hell, addictive like opium, a wonderful, weird, oddball circus-like tale. It is a masterpiece."
Macleans
"Fiction this audacious needs to be championed"
Kirkus
"Echoes of Gabriel García Márquez. Read it slowly and savor it."
IN DEVELOPMENT
TV PRODUCTION: A UNIQUE HIPHOP SHOW
BIO
Ian Thornton read Business Studies and German at Sheffield University between 1986 and 1989, where he earned a First-Class B.A. (Hons).
He has lived in many places including California, Costa Rica, Australia, Mexico, London, and his native and beloved Yorkshire before moving to Toronto in 2009.
In the 90s, Ian worked for Broadcast, TV World and Variety magazines. He is a co-founder of the global television industry publisher and market-leader, C21 Media.
His first novel, The Great and Calamitous Tale of Johan Thoms was published by Simon & Schuster in Canada in 2013, and, a year later, by HarperCollins in the U.K., U.S., and the Commonwealth. It was translated across Europe, taught at the Sorbonne, and received a Kirkus Star.
Ian covered the Royal wedding in London for CTV, Canada's premier independent broadcaster, and has written for Wisden Cricketer, The Guardian, The Hindu and the Soho House magazine, House. He also wrote on the football World Cup in South Africa for the Canadian sports channel, The Score, and has worked for Queen’s University in Ontario, where the project was presented at the White House as part of President Obama's new media initiative.
Ian is the official biographer of the Compton cricket club in California and has been a judge on the largest Latin American film festival, Expresion en Corto.
He also edited and wrote for the leading San Miguel de Allende tourist guide and website, Portal San Miguel.
His second novel, The Deaths and Afterlife of Aleister Crowley was published to a fanfare in late 2019.
His third book, My Year of Living Anonymously is near completion, and an accompanying documentary feature http://www.ian-thornton.com/myola will have its theatrical premiere at the Hot Docs Film Festval and then its broadcast premiere on TVO in Canada in May 2021. The scripted drama version of Ian’s astonishing true-life story is about to go to network pitch.
In 2021, Ian has also had published a mental health biography, Push Forward and a poetry anthology, Alchemy.
Ian lives in Toronto with his wife, Heather Gordon, and their two children, Laszlo and Clementine.
He supports Leeds United and Yorkshire cricket.
GET IN ToUCH
contact
Ian Thornton is based in Toronto and can be reached through the following web-form.
If you are interested in a particular project please check the relevant site for production partners.
You can also email inquiry@ian-thornton.com