Paul Magrs
| Paul Magrs | |
|---|---|
| Born |
12 November 1969 Jarrow, [County Durham], England |
| Occupation | Writer, lecturer |
| Nationality | English |
| Alma mater | Lancaster University |
| Period | 1990s–present |
| Genre | Magic realism, science fiction, horror, mystery, young adult, queer fiction |
| Notable works |
Marked for Life, Modern Love, Strange Boy, Exchange, Doctor Who novels and audio plays, Iris Wildthyme, The Adventures of Brenda and Effie |
| Partner | Jeremy Hoad |
Paul Magrs (pronounced "Mars"; born 12 November 1969) is a writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad.
Magrs was born in Jarrow, Co. Durham, on 12 November 1969. In 1975 he moved with his family to Newton Aycliffe, County Durham; his parents divorced shortly after the move. At the age of 17, Magrs was queer-bashed, and his father was the police officer who took the report on the incident; it was the last time Paul Magrs saw his father.
In Newton Aycliffe, Magrs attended Woodham Comprehensive School, where Mark Gatiss was two years ahead of him and in the same drama group. Magrs went on to Lancaster University, where he received a first class BA in English (1991), an MA in Creative Writing (1991) and a PhD in English (1995). His doctoral thesis was on Angela Carter.
Magrs is the author of numerous fiction and non-fiction works. His first published writing was the short story "Patient Iris", published 1995 in New Writing Four (edited by A. S. Byatt and Alan Hollinghurst). This was soon followed by his debut novel, Marked for Life, the same year. Magrs' first three novels, Marked for Life, Does It Show? (1997) and Could It Be Magic? (1998), share characters, a magical realist tone and a setting: the fictional Phoenix Court council estate in Newton Aycliffe.
Magrs' first children's book, Strange Boy (2002), prompted controversy due to homosexual content involving its 10-year-old protagonist and a 14-year-old neighbour. Representatives of the NASUWT teachers' union and the conservative Christian Institute argued that the book should not be stocked in school libraries, and some newspapers suggested that doing so in England would be illegal due to the Section 28 ban on "promoting homosexuality" in schools. However, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals supported libraries' purchase of Strange Boy, as did representatives of Stonewall and other gay rights organizations. Magrs noted that the book was "about 95% autobiographical" and described the controversy as "ludicrous".
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