Alex Wade

Alex Wade was born in Chiswick, London in 1966. Despite an upbringing in Devon he remains a dedicated QPR fan, often travelling from his home near Sennen Cove to games in Shepherd's Bush.Alex's principal interests as a writer are law, sport (especially football, surfing and boxing), poker (Alex played, while a columnist for Flush magazine, in poker tournaments around the world) and travel, as well as general features, football match reports (for The Game, the acclaimed supplement of The Times) and book reviews (for The Times Books and Times Literary Supplement section).Many years ago, when he was a media lawyer, Alex worked for leading libel firm Carter-Ruck before becoming now-Express Group proprietor Richard Desmond's first Head of Legal Affairs. Subsequently Alex's unreconstructed tendencies got the better of him. His life went off the rails but boxing played a large part in his rehabilitation. This story is chronicled in Wrecking Machine, a Sunday Times sports book of the week ("superb", "irresistible") but also one that saw Metro's book reviewer characterise it as "drivel" written by "a sexist womaniser who likes a drink or six". Best to buy it and make your own mind up.Since 2002, Alex has worked mainly as a writer. He has also enjoyed stints as a licensed bookmaker and a sports rights consultant, selling the rights to key properties such as the FA Premier League in territories as diverse as Albania, Georgia and Azerbaijan. He has made a number of media appearances including Sky News, Talksport, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Radio Five Live.Alex has travelled extensively. He has written about New York, Albania and Kazakhstan; Barbados, Ireland and Andalucia; Captain Cook country, Mexico and Francis Ford Coppola's retreats in Belize and Guatemala. His two sons, Harry and Elliot, are keen surfers, and Alex continues to surf, box and play football despite surgery on his neck in 2009 and any number of sports injuries from repeated shoulder dislocations to broken bones and torn ligaments.For many years Alex worked as a night lawyer for national newspapers including The Times, Independent and Sun. In 2006 Alex was the lawyer behind the scenes for Frank Skinner and David Baddiel's FIFA World Cup podcasts for The Times, and he continues to provide pre-publication legal advice either directly for clients or via Frugal Speech Ltd, an editorial services company which he runs with his partner Caroline Davidson.Alex was proud to serve on the committee of Walcot Amateur Boxing Club in Swindon and is pleased to note that Wrecking Machine is, apparently, the most popular book in at least one of Her Majesty's institutions.Alex Wade's literary agents are Jonathan Harris and David Luxton.