Felix Dennis

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Biography

Felix Dennis is one of Britain's best known entrepreneurs. He was born in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1947.

After leaving Harrow College of Art, Dennis wasted a great deal of his youth playing in R&B bands. In 1971 he was imprisoned by the British government as a co-editor of OZ magazine at the culmination of the longest conspiracy trial in English history. Dennis recorded a single with John Lennon to raise money for a legal defence fund.

Following his acquittal by the High Court of Appeal, Dennis went on to found his own magazine publishing company in 1973. A pioneer in personal computer magazines, Dennis made millions with the sale of Personal Computer World to VNU and MacUser to Ziff Davis Publishing in the mid-eighties. He also co-founded a $2 billion computer mail order company which eventually went public on the NASDAQ.

Today, Dennis Publishing remains a privately owned company with headquarters in both London and New York City. Titles include The Week, Auto Express, Stuff, Computer Shopper, Blender and Evo. Dennis Publishing is also the owner of Maxim, the world's biggest selling men's lifestyle magazine. The annual Sunday Times Rich List estimates that Felix Dennis is the 65th richest individual in the UK.

Following a life-threatening illness, Dennis's first collection of poetry, A Glass Half Full, was published in November 2002 by Hutchinson in the UK. It has since become one of the biggest selling books of original verse in England for years. Dennis's poetry has been featured in the national press, on many radio interviews and has been the subject of two major television documentaries. Spoken word and Braille editions of A Glass Half Full have been produced by organisations for the blind.

In October 2003, Dennis appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company, along with several well-known RSC actors, reading from his work at The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. This event proved so popular that two further such events, (one in New York City, one in Stratford-upon-Avon), are planned for this autumn.

In September 2004, the US edition of A Glass Half Full is scheduled for publication by Miramax Books. The launch will be supported by a 15 city coast-to-coast poetry reading tour. Meanwhile, his second book of verse, Lone Wolf, is to be published in October 2004 by Hutchinson in the UK. This launch, too, will be supported by a national poetry tour.

Felix Dennis's other interests include planting trees, commissioning bronze sculpture, drinking French wine and avoiding business meetings. He claims to spend three or four hours a day writing poetry, dividing his time between homes in Warwickshire, London, New York, Connecticut and the Caribbean island of Mustique.