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Simon Akam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Simon Akam
BornCambridge, England
OccupationJournalist, writer
Alma materWorcester College, Oxford

Simon Akam is a British journalist and historian of the British Army.

Early life

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Akam was born in Cambridge and educated at The Perse School, the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.[1] During his gap year in 2003, he served a short service limited commission as a second lieutenant in the British Army.[2]

Published works

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Akam has written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The New York Times, Reuters, The Economist, GQ, and The Atlantic.[3]

The Changing of the Guard

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In 2015, Akam was commissioned by Penguin Random House imprint William Heinemann to write a book on the British Army. Amid controversy, the book deal was later cancelled, and the resulting book was instead published by Scribe Publications in 2021.[4] The book's eventual publication provoked debate, with Anthony Loyd writing in the New Statesman that the book 'exposes the failures of the British army'.[5]

Awards and honours

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In 2021, Akam was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize.[6]

In 2021, Akam and Natasha Loder jointly won a Feature of the Year prize from the Medical Journalists’ Association.[7]

Works

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  • The Changing of the Guard: The British Army Since 9/11 (2021)

Notes

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  1. ^ "Simon Akam". Penguin Books. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Simon Akam". The Atlantic. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Simon Akam". Scribe Publications. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  4. ^ "'A terrifying precedent': author describes struggle to publish British army history". The Guardian. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Simon Akam's The Changing of the Guard exposes the failures of the British army". New Statesman. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  6. ^ "2021 EXPOSING BRITAIN'S SOCIAL EVILS prize short list". The Orwell Foundation. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Award: Natasha Loder and Simon Akam". The Economist. October 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
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