Christopher David Paling (1956 – 5 February 2024) was a British radio producer, artist, playwright and author of modern fiction.

Biography

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Born in 1956 in Derby, Paling studied social sciences at the University of Sussex.[1] He started working as a studio manager for BBC radio in 1981.[1] In the early 1990s he had a Thirty Minute Theatre play called Way Station produced on BBC Radio 4. He wrote more radio plays and later began writing novels.

After the Raid (1995), a wartime study of a shattered mind, was closely followed by Deserters (1996) and Morning All Day (1997). Paling feared The Silent Sentry (1999), about a radio producer who cracks up, might be "the longest resignation letter in history", but he remained a Radio 4 producer. Newton's Swing (2000) was a subtle stateside thriller; The Repentant Morning (2003) is set in London and Spain in 1936; A Town by the Sea (2005) is a departure from his previous style, leading the reader through a strange landscape of unfamiliar people and places. Minding (2007), nominated for the Mind book of the year, was described as "a delicately and intimately drawn portrait".[citation needed]

Paling wrote a series of plays entitled Words and Music, broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in the summer of 2013.[2] In 2017 his book Reading Allowed: True Stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library was published.

Paling was married with two children, and lived in Brighton.[1] He died in Hove on 5 February 2024.[3]

Bibliography

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  • After the Raid (1995)[1]
  • Deserters (1996)
  • Morning All Day (1997)
  • The Silent Sentry (1999)
  • Newton's Swing (2000)[4]
  • The Repentant Morning (2003)[5][6]
  • A Town by the Sea (2005)[7]
  • Minding (2007)[8]
  • Nimrod's Shadow (2010)[9]
  • Reading allowed: True stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library (2017)[10]
  • A Very Nice Rejection Letter: Diary of a Novelist. Little, Brown Book, 2021. ISBN 9781472134875.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Paling away". The Guardian. 24 February 2005. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  2. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Chris Paling - Words and Music - Episode guide". BBC. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Christopher David Paling". Funeral Notices. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Guardian review: Newton's Swing by Chris Paling". The Guardian. 15 July 2000. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  5. ^ GRYLLS, DAVID. "Review: Fiction: The Repentant Morning by Chris Paling". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Review: The Repentant Morning by Chris Paling". The Guardian. 22 February 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  7. ^ Taylor, D. J. (12 February 2005). "Review: A Town by the Sea by Chris Paling". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Minding by Chris Paling". New Humanist. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  9. ^ Jensen, Liz (9 April 2010). "Nimrod's Shadow by Chris Paling". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  10. ^ Davies, Helen. "Books: Reading Allowed: True Stories and Curious Incidents from a Provincial Library by Chris Paling". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  11. ^ Annesley, Jackie. "A Very Nice Rejection Letter by Chris Paling, review — the struggle to get published". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
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