Philip Hoare


Philip Hoare is a British writer, film-maker and curator. He won the 2009 Samuel Johnson Prize, now known as the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, for his work Leviathan, or the Whale.

Early life and education

Hoare was born Patrick Moore in Southampton. He chose the name Philip Hoare to avoid confusion with astronomer Patrick Moore:
A Roman Catholic, he attended St Mary's Independent School, Southampton on a scholarship. He went on to St Mary's University, Twickenham.

Career

Music

In 1982–83, Hoare ran the record label Operation Twilight, a UK-based subsidiary of the Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule.

2009 Samuel Johnson Prize

Hoare was the winner of the 2009 Samuel Johnson Prize, now known as the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, for his work Leviathan, or the Whale. The book, which describes a personal and societal fascination with whales, received praise. Jonathan Mirsky, writing for Literary Review, called the book "tremendous".

Other work

Hoare has recorded podcasts for NPR, VICE and Al Jazeera Media Network. His curatorial work includes Derek Jarman's Modern Nature, and he contributed to the Victoria and Albert Museum's international touring exhibition, David Bowie Is.
Hoare has written articles on whales, including one on the orca 'attacks' off the Iberian Peninsula in 2023. He is special ambassador for Whale and Dolphin Conservation, visiting fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, and lecturer at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence.
As a writer, Hoare has represented the British Council in Berlin, Guadalajara, and Moscow.

Works

Hoare is the author of the following works of non-fiction:Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant Noël Coward: A Biography Wilde's Last Stand: Decadence, Conspiracy, and the First World War Spike Island: The Memory of a Military Hospital, the story of Netley Hospital in SouthamptonThe Ghosts of Netley England's Lost Eden: Adventures in a Victorian Utopia, about Mary Anne Girling and the New Forest ShakersLeviathan or, The Whale, which won the 2009 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fictionThe Whale: In Search Of The Giants Of The Sea The Sea Inside RisingTideFallingStar Albert and the Whale: Albrecht Dürer and How Art Imagines Our World William Blake and the Sea Monsters of Love
He has also edited The Sayings of Noël Coward.
Hoare has co-authored or contributed to the following publications:
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