John Blackburn

Blackburn was born in Corbridge, Northumberland and educated at Haileybury and Durham University. He was the brother of the poet Thomas Blackburn. During the Second World War (1942-45) he served in the British merchant navy, becoming a radio officer. He attended Durham University after returning to civilian life, earning his bachelor's degree in 1949. In 1950 he married Joan Mary Clift. He was a schoolmaster in London for two years, and he taught in Berlin for a year, following which he returned to London and became a director of Red Lion Books. This eventually lead to his own writing.