Andrew Billen facts for kids

Andrew Billen (born 30 December 1957) is a British journalist and writer. He is known for his work at The Times newspaper, where he writes interesting articles about different topics. He has also written books for children.

Early Life

Andrew Billen was born in London on December 30, 1957. He grew up in Brentwood, Essex. He went to Brentwood School from 1965 to 1977. Later, he studied English at Christ Church, Oxford university. He earned his degree in 1980.

Career in Journalism

Andrew Billen began his newspaper career at the Sheffield Star. This was a daily newspaper in South Yorkshire. In 1984, he started working for The Times newspaper. He wrote for the "Times Diary" section. In 1988, he became the newspaper's arts correspondent. This meant he wrote about art, music, and theatre.

In 1989, he moved to The Observer newspaper. Then, in 1997, he joined the London Evening Standard. There, he worked as the chief interviewer. This role involved talking to many different people and writing about their lives and thoughts.

Return to The Times

Andrew Billen returned to The Times in 2002. For five years, he wrote a weekly column called "The Andrew Billen Interview." From 2007 to 2017, he was the main television reviewer for the newspaper. He watched TV shows and wrote his opinions about them.

For ten years, until 2007, he also worked as a TV critic for the New Statesman magazine. Later, he became their theatre reviewer.

Awards and Recognition

Andrew Billen has won several awards for his writing.

• In 2006, he won a prize at the Press Gazette′s Magazine Design & Journalism Awards.
• In 2008, he was named "critic of the year" at the same awards.
• He has been nominated six times for "interviewer of the year" at the UK Press Awards.
• In 2020, he was also nominated for "interviewer of the year" at the British Journalism Awards.

In 2022, Andrew Billen presented a five-part podcast series. It was called "The Feud" and was part of the "Story of Our Times" podcast. The series was about a disagreement at Christ Church, Oxford, his old university.

Personal Life

Andrew Billen is married to Lucy. They live in Oxford and have two daughters, Abby and Orla.