Research
and Degrees: Simon Winchester graduated from the University of Oxford with a
degree in Geology. While on a mission in Uganda, he came across James Morris'
book “Coronation Everest.” Reading the book drove Winchester to become a
writer, so he mailed Morris and asked for career advice. Morris urged
Winchester to switch professions the day he read the letter. He quit his job
and immediately joined The Guardian (Newspaper Company). Through his career at
The Guardian, Winchester covered several events, including Bloody Sunday,
Belfast Hour of Terror, and the Watergate Scandal. As an author, he has written
and contributed to more than a dozen non-fiction books, written one novel, and
his articles have appeared in several travel publications like Condé Nast
Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine, and National Geographic.
Books and Awards: With about three decades of experience, and the author of a dozen travel-inspired books, Winchester's preliminary proposal to write a book about an ambiguous lexicographer was rejected. Only when Harper Collins editor Larry Ashmead read the proposal and supported the book did Winchester begin to seriously pursue the needed research. It later became a New York Times Bestseller and he went on to write “The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary” (2003) about the broader history of the OED.
Books and Awards: With about three decades of experience, and the author of a dozen travel-inspired books, Winchester's preliminary proposal to write a book about an ambiguous lexicographer was rejected. Only when Harper Collins editor Larry Ashmead read the proposal and supported the book did Winchester begin to seriously pursue the needed research. It later became a New York Times Bestseller and he went on to write “The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary” (2003) about the broader history of the OED.