Editing Paul Magrs (section)

==Literary career==
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]]).<ref name="archivechrono" /> This was soon followed by his debut novel, ''Marked for Life'', the same year.<ref name="archivechrono" /> Magrs' first three novels, ''Marked for Life'', ''Does It Show?'' (1997) and ''Could It Be Magic?'' (1998), share characters, a [[magic realism|magical realist]] tone and a setting: the fictional Phoenix Court [[council estate]] in Newton Aycliffe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.librarything.com/nseries/41678/Phoenix-Court |title=Phoenix Court |publisher=[[LibraryThing]] |access-date=24 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Book review: Could it be magic? by Paul Magrs  |first=Michael |last=Arditti |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=13 January 1998 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/book-review-could-it-be-magic-by-paul-magrs-chatto--windus-pounds-999-1138355.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/book-review-could-it-be-magic-by-paul-magrs-chatto--windus-pounds-999-1138355.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=25 June 2010 }}</ref><ref name="singular">{{cite news |title=Strange boy, singular writer |first=Nick |last=Morrison |newspaper=[[The Northern Echo]] |date=3 July 2002 |url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/archive/2002/07/03/The+North+East+Archive/7068445.Strange_boy__singular_writer/ |access-date=25 July 2010 }}</ref>

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.<ref name="magrsattacks" /><ref name="herald" /><ref name="scotlandfury">{{cite news |title=Fury as schools to stock child gay sex book |first=Kizzy |last=Taylor |newspaper=[[Scotland on Sunday]] |date=23 June 2002 |url=http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland/Fury-as-schools-to-stock.2337587.jp |access-date=25 June 2010 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608205159/http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland/Fury-as-schools-to-stock.2337587.jp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="heraldrow">{{cite news |title=Row over book on 10-year-old gay boy for school libraries |first=Lorna |last=Martin |newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |date=24 June 2002 |url=https://secure.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/access/128127991.html?FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+24%2C+2002&author=Lorna+Martin&pub=The+Herald&desc=Row+over+book+on+10-year-old+gay+boy+for+school+libraries |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121217164900/https://secure.pqarchiver.com/smgpubs/access/128127991.html?FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+24,+2002&author=Lorna+Martin&pub=The+Herald&desc=Row+over+book+on+10-year-old+gay+boy+for+school+libraries |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 December 2012 |page=6 |format=fee required |access-date=25 June 2010 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="scotlandfury" /><ref name="mercury">{{cite news |title=Gay boy sex book is set for schools; No Midlands ban on explicit novel |first=Caroline |last=Wheeler |newspaper=[[Sunday Mercury]] |date=30 June 2002 |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-88092474 |access-date=25 June 2010 |format=fee required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Libraries: The War on Terror's New Front? |first=Steven M. |last=Cohen |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=25 June 2002 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/libraries-the-war-on-terrors-new-front |access-date=25 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025082944/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,56210,00.html |archive-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bestbooks">{{cite news |title=Sexually explicit book to be stocked in Scottish schools |newspaper=M2 Best Books |date=3 July 2010 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-88243907.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104073011/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-88243907.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2012 |access-date=25 June 2010 }}</ref> However, the [[Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals]] supported libraries' purchase of ''Strange Boy'', as did representatives of [[Stonewall (UK)|Stonewall]] and other gay rights organizations.<ref name="scotlandfury" /><ref name="heraldrow" /><ref name="bestbooks" /> Magrs noted that the book was "about 95% autobiographical" and described the controversy as "ludicrous".<ref>{{cite news |title=Stranger than fiction |first=Paul |last=Magrs |newspaper=[[Scotland on Sunday]] |date=11 August 2002 |url=http://living.scotsman.com/features/Stranger-than-fiction.2351239.jp |access-date=25 June 2010}}</ref>

===Doctor Who===
Magrs has written several novels, short stories and audio dramas relating to ''[[Doctor Who]]'', many of which also feature his character [[Iris Wildthyme]].<ref name="who">{{cite web |url=http://www.paulmagrs.com/who.php |title=Doctor Who |last=Magrs |first=Paul |work=paulmagrs.com |access-date=24 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413034624/http://www.paulmagrs.com/who.php |archive-date=13 April 2010 }}</ref><ref name="iris">{{cite web |url=http://www.paulmagrs.com/iris.php |title=Iris Wildthyme |last=Magrs |first=Paul |work=paulmagrs.com |access-date=24 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113200730/http://www.paulmagrs.com/iris.php |archive-date=13 January 2010 }}</ref>

Iris was initially portrayed as an eccentric and unreliable [[Time Lord|Time Lady]], whose [[TARDIS]] takes the form of a London [[AEC Routemaster]] [[double-decker bus]] (the [[London Buses route 22|route 22]] to [[Putney Common]]), though in a series of short story collections and novels not written for the BBC, the character has been repurposed to remove any copyrighted aspects.<ref name="iris" /> Iris Wildthyme was originally created for Magrs' unpublished first novel, which was named after her; another version of Iris also appears in ''Marked for Life''.<ref name="archivechrono" /><ref name="wildthymebio">{{cite web |url=http://www.iriswildthyme.thiswaydown.org/who.html |title=Iris in the Whoniverse |last=Douglas |first=Stuart |year=2007 |work=The Iris Wildthyme Pages |access-date=24 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518220510/http://www.iriswildthyme.thiswaydown.org/who.html |archive-date=18 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The character features in all of Magrs' three contributions to [[BBC Books]]' [[Eighth Doctor Adventures]], in several [[Big Finish Productions]] audio dramas by Magrs and other writers, in a novel series from [[Snowbooks]]<ref>{{cite web |title=About Enter Wildthyme |url=http://www.snowbooks.com/store/products/2014-04-07%2013:18:41%20+0000-EnterWildthyme |publisher=snowbooks |access-date=16 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724135419/http://www.snowbooks.com/store/products/2014-04-07%2013%3A18%3A41%20+0000-EnterWildthyme |archive-date=24 July 2014 }}</ref> and in short story and novella collections published by Big Finish and [[Obverse Books]].<ref name="iris" />

Magrs has also written licensed ''Doctor Who'' fiction without Wildthyme, including the 2007 novel, ''[[Sick Building]]'', (which made the shortlist for the Doncaster Book Award),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doncasterbookaward.net/showreview.php?i=111 |title=Sick Building |work=Doncaster Book Award |access-date=24 June 2010}}</ref> a variety of audio plays for Big Finish and the BBC audio series, ''[[Hornets' Nest (Doctor Who)|Hornets' Nest]]'', which marked the first time [[Tom Baker]] had returned to play [[Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] in a full-length drama since he left the role in 1981.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Tom Baker returns as the Fourth Doctor in new audio dramas! |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2009/07_july/hornets_nest.shtml |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |date=29 July 2009 |access-date=24 June 2010}}</ref> After the success of Hornets' Nest, Magrs wrote two sequel series ''[[Demon Quest]]'' (2010) and ''[[Serpent Crest]]'' (2011).

===The Brenda and Effie Mysteries===
Magrs' current ongoing novel series is ''The Brenda and Effie Mysteries'', starring Brenda, the [[Bride of Frankenstein]], who has now retired and runs a [[Bed and breakfast|B&B]] in [[Whitby]].<ref name="brenda">{{cite web |url=http://www.paulmagrs.com/brenda.php |title=Brenda and Effie |last=Magrs |first=Paul |work=paulmagrs.com |access-date=24 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113200640/http://www.paulmagrs.com/brenda.php |archive-date=13 January 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Something Borrowed, By Paul Magrs |first=Paul |last=Burston |author-link=Paul Burston |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=21 October 2007 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/something-borrowed-by-paul-magrs-397309.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/something-borrowed-by-paul-magrs-397309.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=25 June 2010}}</ref> She and her friend Effie, a local white witch, investigate spooky goings-on in the town.<ref name="brenda" />  {{As of|2020|11}}, there have been nine books in the series, the latest being ''A Game of Crones'' from Snowbooks. The fourth book, ''Hell's Belles'', features characters from Magrs' early Phoenix Court books, while the fifth features characters from Magrs' ''Doctor Who'' audio, ''The Boy That Time Forgot''. A short story collection, ''A Treasury of Brenda and Effie'' (Obverse Books) and a seventh novel, ''Fellowship of Ink'' (snowbooks) were both released in 2017. An eighth novel, ''Beyond the Veil'', was released in 2023 by Obverse Books.

The characters have also appeared in two audio adaptations: a 3-part series for BBC Radio 4, starring [[Joanna Tope]] and Monica Gibb,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dq0jc|title = BBC Radio 4 Extra - Paul Magrs - Never the Bride}}</ref> and then a series of award-winning<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/worldsbestradio/2015/pieces.php?pid=1&iid=491164 | title=New York Festivals - 2015 World's Best Radio Programs™ Winners | access-date=28 June 2017 | archive-date=5 May 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505023238/http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/worldsbestradio/2015/pieces.php?pid=1&iid=491164 | url-status=dead }}</ref> audios from Bafflegab. These starred [[Anne Reid]] and included:

* 1. The Woman in a Black Beehive
* 2. Bat Out of Hull
* 3. Spicy Tea and Sympathy
* 4. Brenda Has Risen from the Grave

In 2020, it was announced Free@Last TV, who produced the [[Sky1]]/[[Acorn TV]] series ''[[Agatha Raisin (TV series)|Agatha Raisin]]'', were developing a television series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.c21media.net/agatha-raisin-firm-reveals-development-slate/|title = Agatha Raisin firm reveals development slate}}</ref>

===Other novels===
Magrs' other novels include ''Aisles'' (2003) and ''To the Devil&nbsp;– a Diva!'' (2004); he has also published several short stories. His novel ''Exchange'' was shortlisted for the 2006 [[Booktrust Teenage Prize]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.booktrust.org.uk/Prizes-and-awards/Booktrust-Teenage-Prize/Teenage-Prize-archive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731174130/http://www.booktrust.org.uk/Prizes-and-awards/Booktrust-Teenage-Prize/Teenage-Prize-archive |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 July 2010 |title=Teenage Prize archive |year=2008 |publisher=[[Booktrust]] |access-date=24 June 2010 }}</ref> and was longlisted for the 2007 [[Carnegie Medal (literary award)|Carnegie Medal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/pressdesk/press.php?release=pres_car_nom_07.html |title=The CILIP Carnegie Medal Nominations for 2007 |work=The CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards |publisher=[[Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals]] |access-date=24 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207152353/http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/pressdesk/press.php?release=pres_car_nom_07.html |archive-date=7 February 2012 }}</ref>

His young adult novel, ''The Ninnies'' was listed by the Irish Times as one of the children's books of the year in 2012.<ref name="ITIMES">{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/30-treats-to-put-around-the-tree-1.3312?page=2|title=30 treats to put around the tree|last=Chris Judge|date=15 December 2012|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=12 May 2013}}</ref>

Later novels include two books about his cats, Fester and Bernard, ''The Story of Fester Cat'' and ''Welcome Home, Bernard Socks'', a stand-alone novel, ''666 Charing Cross Road'' ({{ISBN|978-0755359486}}), and a trilogy of novels about a frontier family on the planet Mars.