Barry Durham was born in Manchester in 1947. He was educated at North Manchester Grammar School and Salford Technical College where he studied Maths, Physics and Chemistry for a while. He was an insurance clerk for a number of years before trying his hand as a salesman, but his first love of writing kept getting him into trouble as he was often found scribbling down ideas for stories when he should have been working! After marrying his wife Barbara in 1968 the couple moved to the Preston area and Barry obtained the post of Junior Reporter on the Garstang Courier. The next 40-odd years saw him work for a number of newspapers and other publications. He has been a reporter, feature writer, sub-editor, Editor, Group Editor and an Associate Lecturer at The University of Central Lancashire where he taught newspaper and magazine design until his retirement. He lives in the village of Chipping in Lancashire with his wife of nearly 50 years, has two sons, a granddaughter and three grandsons.