Ian Birch is an editor and writer who started his career at Time Out in the 70s when it had a radical voice and every staff member was paid the same. He moved into writing about music, first at Melody Maker, where he went on tour with The Clash to his hometown of Belfast, and then at Smash Hits, in the 1980s, where he became the unofficial sixth member of Duran Duran. Since then, Ian has edited many publications in London and New York, including launching several ground-breaking magazines such as Grazia, Red, Heat and Closer. In the USA he edited Us magazine and re-launched the iconic weekly, TV Guide, in 2004, turning it from an analogue to a digital operation with an audience of 26 million.

He has worked as editorial director for Hearst magazines on both sides of the Atlantic, overseeing respected brands such as Harpers Bazaar, Esquire, Elle Decoration and Good Housekeeping. He is a contributor to Monocle radio.

Ian won the Mark Boxer Award for lifetime achievement at the British Society of Magazine Editors Awards – the magazine industry’s equivalent of an Oscar.