A Spotter's Guide to Adam Ford
(a biography of sorts)

photo by Jordan Ford, © 2003

• Adam was born in Ballarat and moved to Melbourne in 1991. Then in 2005 he moved to a small town in northwest Victoria called Chewton. He has many metaphorical hats, though he hardly ever literally wears a hat, which isn't the most sensible thing considering his rate of hair loss. He is a poet, with two published collections called Not Quite the Man for the Job and From My Head. His first novel, Man Bites Dog, was published in April 2003.

• Adam has performed his poetry all over Australia, including schools, festivals, museums, galleries, cafes, pubs, loungerooms and public transport.

• Adam has been editor of journals including Going Down Swinging, Voiceworks, &, moments and the zine anthology Chimp Frenzy. He publishes an irregular zine called Jutchy Ya Ya and has also published a bunch of comics including The Amazing Atavistic Adventures of The Fish, Rude Boy, The Book of Job and The Lives and Times of Jerry the Nerky Lizard. Between 2001 and 2003 he did about a year's worth of strips for The Godlings, the comic that appears both in Man Bites Dog and on the comic review website Popimage.

• Until recently Adam maintained a web site of CD reviews and occasional blatherings called The Scam.

• Adam has worked as an editor, copywriter, security guard, teacher, music journalist, paperboy, librarian and sold deep-fried chicken for a short period in the early nineties.

• There's a quick little interview with Adam on in the About the Authors section of Allen & Unwin's web site. It may very well answer all of your questions in one fell swoop.

• Adam has taught many workshops and short courses for universities, secondary schools, libraries and city councils across Australia on topics as diverse as poetry, zine-making, music journalism and how to scam free stuff. He will soon be adding fan fiction to the list.

• Adam played clarinet on two tracks on The Lucksmiths' album, What Bird is That?

• Adam does not work as a sales representative at Cambridge University Press. Neither has he starred in a best-selling series of Swiss ball fitness videos, nor has he ever rescued a dog whose leash was caught in a railway track. He is not a bicycle courier. Neither is he a UK-based freelance graphic designer.

• If you would like to book Adam for some kind of public appearance or workshop thingy, schools and libraries should contact Booked Out. Other people can contact me directly, by following the clues in the next bullet point.

• If you would like to contact Adam about any or all of the above, or anything else on this site that intrigues you, do not hesitate to do so.