WILLIAM NORRIS

Author of:
The Man Who Fell From the Sky
A Talent to Deceive: Who REALLY Killed the Lindberg Baby?
The Badger Game,
Snowbird, The Gonzago Principle,
A Grave Too Many

William (Bill) Norris has been a professional writer since joining his local newspaper as an apprentice reporter at the age of 16. After working for a variety of newspapers in England and Africa, he was appointed Parliamentary Correspondent to the prestigious Times (of London) ten years later - one of the youngest ever to gain this position. He held the post for seven years, revolutionising the art of the "parliamentary sketch", then transferred to become Africa Correspondent for The Times, covering political events and wars in Biafra, Nigeria, Angola, the Congo, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

Growing tired of being shot at - this was long before the days of flak jackets, helmets and danger money for reporters, he moved to ITN as Political Correspondent in 1968, and also covered numerous overseas assignments including the Paris riots of that year. After turning freelance in 1980, Norris moved to the United States where he worked under contract for The Times and other publications for 13 years.

He became Associate Director of the PressWise Trust (a British media ethics charity) in 1997, in which post he counseled young journalists and promoted the cause of journalistic ethics. The latter, he said, was rather like preaching the virtues of continence to a shipload of sex-starved sailors. Six years ago he moved to the South of France, where he lives with his wife, Betty, two cats, and two exhausting dogs. His latest book, "A Talent to Deceive," was 15 years in preparation, was initially inspired by his interest in aviation. He is a keen amateur pilot and once built his own experimental aircraft to fly across the United States.

He is also an experienced public speaker, having addressed such varied venues as a World Health Organisation conference in Moscow, a European Union conference on journalistic ethics in Cyprus (at both of which he was the keynote speaker), and international post-graduate students at the University of London. A member emeritus of the Academy of Senior Professionals at Florida's Eckerd College, he now spends much of his time advising journalistic students.

Bill Norris is always pleased to hear from readers. Visit his website at www.williamnorris.eu. You can reach him via e-mail at william.norris@nordnet.fr