Niel Bushnell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Niel Bushnell
Bushnell in January 2013
Born	1970 (age 54–55) Hartlepool, England
Occupation	Novelist, Screenwriter & Illustrator
Genre	Fantasy, Science fiction
Notable works	Sorrowline, Timesmith
Notable awards	Northern Promise Award 2011

Niel Bushnell, born in 1970, is an English writer and artist from Hartlepool. He writes exciting science fiction stories like The Arkship Saga. He also wrote children's fantasy books, Sorrowline and Timesmith, which are part of The Timesmith Chronicles series. These books were published by Andersen Press in the UK. Niel is also a co-founder of an animation studio called Qurios Entertainment.

Niel Bushnell's Life and Work

Niel Bushnell was born in Hartlepool, England. When he was younger, he worked with his school friend, Gordon Fraser. They created a newspaper comic strip called The Funny Farm, which later became Farmageddon. This comic strip appeared in the Hartlepool Mail newspaper for about 18 months. Later, Niel helped turn Farmageddon into an animated project.

Animation and Art Projects

Niel loved comics, especially Star Wars Weekly, which made him want to draw and write his own comic strips. In 1990, he helped publish a small comic called Over The Edge. In 1993, Niel also drew artwork for a Marvel UK comic called The Incomplete Death's Head.

Since 1994, Niel Bushnell has worked as an animator. He has worked on many feature films. Some of these include Space Jam, Lost in Space, and Felidae.

In 2002, Niel and his wife, Diane, started their own animation studio. It was called Qurios Entertainment and was in their hometown of Hartlepool. Qurios made animations for commercials and many TV shows. Some TV shows they worked on include Hyperdrive, Spooks, Tracy Beaker Returns, and The Dumping Ground. Later, Qurios joined with another company called Dene Films. Niel was the Animation Director there until 2013.

Niel also helped produce animated episodes for the famous TV show Doctor Who. He worked on two episodes of the story The Ice Warriors, which came out on DVD in August 2013. In 2018, Niel added new animation and visual effects to another Doctor Who story, Revenge of the Cybermen. Since then, he has created new animation and effects for several other Doctor Who stories. These include The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Logopolis, Castrovalva, and The Five Doctors.

Niel used to teach Animation and Games Art at the University of Sunderland. In 2019, he joined The Northern School of Art. He is now the Cinematic Discipline Lead for Atomhawk Design.

Niel Bushnell's Writing Career

Niel has been writing his whole life. In 2009, he started working on his first novel, Sorrowline. He sent the first 30 pages of Sorrowline to the 2011 Northern Writers Awards. This is an event organized by New Writing North, which helps writers in the north east of England. Niel won a Northern Promise Award for his work.

After that, Sorrowline was quickly published by Andersen Press in the United Kingdom. It was also published in Germany and Brazil. Sorrowline was even considered for the Branford Boase Award in 2014, which celebrates new children's authors.

In March 2017, Niel Bushnell became the first Writer in Residence at The Word. This is a special center for written words in South Shields.

Niel also wrote and directed a short comedy film called DCSS. He has written audiobooks for the TV shows Blake's 7 and Doctor Who.

Helping His Community

Niel Bushnell helps support writing and his local community. He is a member of the Society of Authors and helps organize events for writers. He also joined the board of trustees for New Writing North in 2015.

Niel has worked on several projects to promote his hometown of Hartlepool and the north-east region of England. In 2003, he joined other local businesses to start the Enterprising Hartlepool campaign. This campaign aimed to show that Hartlepool is a good place for businesses. They even visited the Houses of Parliament to talk to important people about Hartlepool.

Niel was also part of the Passionate People, Passionate Places campaign. This campaign promoted the north-east of England from 2005 for several years. You might have seen posters for it in train stations and on the London tube. In 2006, Niel supported a campaign to get a direct train link from Hartlepool to London. In December 2007, Grand Central Railway started this daily train service. In 2017, he joined the Tees Valley Digital Strategy Board to help grow technology industries in the area.

Niel has also raised money for charities like Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation. He did this by running in events like the Great North Run in 2007 and 2008, and the Great Edinburgh Run in 2009.

Niel Bushnell's Books

The Timesmith Chronicles Series

• Sorrowline (2013)
• Timesmith (2014)

The Arkship Saga Series

• Arkship Obsidian (2017)
• Arkship Vengeance (2017)
• Arkship Alliance (2018)
• Arkship Conquest (2018)
• Arkship Prophecy (2019)
• Arkship Encounters (2021) - a collection of short stories
• Arkship Omega (2022)

Doctor Who Audiobooks

• Doctor Who: The Ashes of Eternity (2021)
• Doctor Who: The Ice Kings (2023)
• Doctor Who: The Romanov Project (2023)
• Doctor Who: On Ghost Beach (2024)

The Tail of Tobin Artichoke Series

• Tobin Artichoke and the Asylum of Atlantis (2018) - short story
• Tobin Artichoke and the Queen of Heaven (2018)

Other Books and Audio Dramas

• Altitude (2017)
• Blake's 7: Chosen (2020) audiobook by Big Finish Productions
• The Worlds of Blake's 7: Avalon Volume 02 (2021) Audio drama by Big Finish Productions
• The Death of Day (2024)

Short Stories

• Scissors (2015)
• Would Have, Could Have (2017)
• Follow That Ferry (2017)

Awards Niel Bushnell Has Won

• 2011 Northern Promise Award for Sorrowline, from the Northern Writers' Awards.
• 2021 Europa Gold Award - Best Unproduced Screenplay for The Waiting Room, from the L.A. Sci-Fi Film Awards.