Richard Masson, 11 March 1943 - 19 Nov 2013.
After a long career in the Merchant Navy, Masson pursued his passion to do an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. In 2012, 40 years after he started writing the story, Boonie was shortlisted for Undiscovered Voices and then picked up by Hot Key Books for publication in January 2013. It achieved great critical success, described by the Observer as an "excellent debut, [that] has a harrowing opening with echoes of Cormac McCarthy's The Road".
Born on 11 March 1943, Masson lived in East London until he joined the Merchant Navy at 16. Over 20 years, he travelled the high seas, qualifying as a ship's officer and once delivering a tug boat from Rotterdam to Bahrain. Although he tested out his land legs in a series of jobs - manufacturing everything from cars, to furniture, to telephone systems - eventually he gave it up to return to the water, sailing away with his wife Margaret on their boat Hephzibah to explore the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The couple retired to Cornwall, and Masson leaves a wife and two sons.
His editor Sara O'Connor said: "Richard had such a strong voice and such a big vision, and I feel privileged to have worked with him and to have published his ambitious book."
Author's Website: https://richardmasson.com/
