Simon Barnes

Simon Barnes is an English journalist. He is currently chief sportswriter of "The Times" newspaper. He also writes a column on wildlife in the Saturday edition of "The Times".

After cutting his journalistic teeth on local newspapers in Britain, Barnes traveled to Hong Kong, where he wrote for travel magazines and the South China Morning Post. Following his return to Britain, he became a sports writer for "The Times", rising to his current position of chief sportswriter after winning a number of awards. He is the author of 15 books including three novels and the best-selling "How to Be a Bad Birdwatcher". His latest book, "The Meaning of Sport', was published in autumn 2007.

Barnes has frequently been a victim of "Private Eye"'s "Pseuds Corner", as his pompous and pretentious style of sports writing appears purple prose to some readers.

Said to be shy of appearing on TV, Barnes has turned down many invitations as a guest on TV sports shows, but has made or appeared in a number of programmes on BBC Radio 4, including a reading of his book, "How to be a bad birdwatcher". He is also an acknowledged specialist writer on the environment and wildlife.

He is currently living in the county of Suffolk, in the United Kingdom with his family and five horses, and is on "The Times" team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.Update after|2008|09|01