A new biography of the television scriptwriter Malcolm Hulke, has been published on Lulu. 

Things are not Always What They Seem is the first biography of Malcolm Hulke to be published and draws upon interviews with his friends, family, and work colleagues;  his scripts, novels, and other works;  his letters to friends and family;  and his  MI5 file. It is written by Michael Herbert.

Malcolm ‘Mac’ Hulke (1924 – 1979) was a successful writer for television, film, theatre, and radio from the 1950s to the 1970s. He wrote eight stories for Doctor Who in the 1960s and 1970s creating the Silurians and the Sea Devils for the series. 

Other work included episodes for classic television series such as Pathfinders in Space, The Avengers, Crossroads,  Danger Man, and Sergeant Cork

He also wrote seven Doctor Who novels and four Crossroads novels. His non-fiction work included  The Writers’  Guide 1970;  The Making of Doctor Who co-written with his friend  Terrance Dicks; and the influential handbook  Writing for Television in the 1970s  which brought together all his experience and expertise in his craft.

Malcolm was a founder member of the Writers’  Guild, which campaigned for better pay for writers.

For a time he was a member of the Communist Party, feeding his political views into his work. He wrote to his friend Jean Tate:

The book  may be purchased  from Lulu using this link

Celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of Doctot Who, Candy Jar Books will be releasing the first of a number of books marking the event. Taking us back to one of the most colourful highlights the series experienced in the 1960s when the Daleks took to the big screen, they will share the memories of someone who was not only there, but was also directly involved with the autobiography of Jill Curzon, who played the character of Doctor Who's niece Louise in the film Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD:

Jill Curzon's career lef her to work with many beloved names in the entertainment industry such as Roger Moore, Morecambe and Wise, Patrick McGoohan, etc, and starred in legendary cult TV series, such as The Champions, The Saint, Adam Adamant Lives and Not Only... But, Also with comedy icons Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Jill commented::

The book is her story: from BBC Television Centre at its height, to Shepperton and Pinewood film studios, and taking in London and the Soho nightclubs and comedy bars of the early 1960s, this memoir captures the rich atmosphere and the vivid colour of the night-life that shaped the entertainment world both in front and behind the lens. Follow her life as it took unexpected twists and turns, through the fame of the 1960s and into the 1970s, where despite giving up acting, she continues to live life to the fullest.

Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar Books, said:

Drawing extensively from diaries kept throughout her life, Jill paints a sharply accurate portrait of a life where the world seems to present everything at her feet, from success to love, and then takes it all away as betrayal brings her to a point where nearly everything is lost.

Jill added:

Anthony Ainley: The Man behind The Master
Researched by Karen Louise Hollis

Although known to an audience of millions the world over for his portrayal of The Doctor's arch nemesis The Master in Doctor Who during the 1980's, Anthony Ainley had a prolific career which encompassed starring roles in Spyders Web and It's Dark Outside, as well as appearances in renowned dramas such as The Pallisers, Elizabeth R, Nicholas Nickleby, Upstairs, Downstairs, and cult films including Blood On Satan's Claw and The Land That Time Forgot.

But the dramas in Anthony's real life were far more fascinating than any of the many parts he played on screen. Born the illegitimate son of actor Henry Ainley, and taken into care at the Actors' Orphanage at the age of four, Fantom presents the hidden story behind one of Doctor Who's most enigmatic characters.

Competition

Terry Nation - The Man Who Invented The Daleks
The Biography
Written by Alwyn W. Turner
Narrated by David Troughton

The Daleks are one of the most iconic and fearsome creations in television history. Since their first appearance in 1963, they have simultaneously fascinated and terrified generations of children, their instant success ensuring, and sometimes eclipsing, that of Doctor Who.

They sprang from the imagination of Terry Nation, a failed stand-up comic who became one of the most prolific writers for television that Britain has ever produced. Survivors, his vision of a post-apocalyptic England, so haunted audiences in the Seventies that the BBC revived it over thirty years on, and Blake’s 7, constantly rumoured for return, endures as a cult sci-fi classic. But it is for his genocidal pepperpots that Nation is most often remembered, and on the 50th anniversary of their creation they continue to top the Saturday-night ratings.

Yet while the Daleks brought him notoriety and riches, Nation played a much wider role in British broadcasting’s golden age. He wrote for Spike Milligan, Frankie Howerd and an increasingly troubled Tony Hancock, and as one of the key figures behind the adventure series of the Sixties – including The Avengers, The Saint and The Persuaders! – he turned the pulp classics of his boyhood into a major British export.

In The Man Who Invented the Daleks, acclaimed cultural historian Alwyn W. Turner, explores the curious and contested origins of Doctor Who's greatest villains, and sheds light on a strange world of ambitious young writers, producers and performers without whom British culture today would look very different.

Competition: