John Oates

Freelance writer, photographer and editor

About me

The (very brief) story so far:

  • Born in Southport, Lancashire.
  • Graduated from Cambridge University with a First in English.
  • After university, worked for a few months as a Broadcast Assistant for BBC Radio Lancashire: presented traffic and travel reports, reviewed films, conducted interviews, edited features.
  • Took a position as an Associate Agent at a literary agency in London, Maggie Pearlstine Associates. Worked with leading UK non-fiction writers assessing and advising on manuscripts, selling articles and books, negotiating contracts and liaising with authors.
  • After winning the Guardian’s Young Travel Writer of the Year award in 2002, used the prize as an excuse to travel through Central and South Asia – from Tashkent to Kathmandu – for a year.
  • On returning to the UK, successfully became established as a travel writer and web editor.
  • Lived in Southeast Asia throughout 2008, researching articles while also continuing work as an editor.
  • Began submitting stock images to Alamy in January 2009.
  • Currently writing travel articles for a variety of publications and editing the Foundation Learning Tier website.
Please contact me if you require further details or to request a formal CV. You could also check out my LinkedIn profile.