John Grindrod (author)

Grindrod at Milton Keynes Lit Fest in 2023

John Grindrod (born 1970)[1] is a social historian and author of books about people and place. He is from Croydon, London.[2]

Works

Grindrod's first book, Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain (2013), covers British architecture and New Towns in the post-war consensus period from 1945 and 1979.[3]

His second book, Outskirts: Living Life on the Edge of the Greenbelt (2017), is a mix of memoir and investigation of the Metropolitan Green Belt, which surrounds New Addington where Grindrod's family lived.[4][5][6] This book was shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Prize.[7]

His third book, Iconicon: A Journey around the Landmark Building of Contemporary Britain (2022), covers British architecture from 1979 to the present day,[8] including Barratt housing, Canary Wharf and the national devolution buildings in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This book was shortlisted for the 2023 Architectural Book Awards [9].

His fourth book, Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains (2026), is based around a series of original interviews with LGBTQ+ people about their experiences of living in suburbia in the UK.

Grindrod has written for the Guardian, the Financial Times, the Twentieth-Century Society Magazine, the Big Issue and The Modernist.[10]

He also hosts the podcast Monstrosities Mon Amour.[11]

Bibliography

  • Concretopia, 2013[2]
  • Outskirts, 2017[5][6]
  • How To Love Brutalism, 2018
  • Iconicon: A Journey Around the Landmark Buildings of Contemporary Britain, 2022 (Faber)[12][13]
  • Tales of the Suburbs: LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains, 2026

References

  1. ↑ Grindrod, John (2014). Concretopia: a journey around the rebuilding of postwar Britain (Paperback ed.). London: Old Street Publ. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-908699-89-3.
  2. 1 2 Armstrong, Rebecca (2013-11-15). "Book Review: Concretopia, By John Grindrod". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  3. ↑ Jordison, Sam (2014-01-09). "Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain by John Grindrod – review". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  4. ↑ Hanley, Lynsey (2017-05-19). "Outskirts by John Grindrod — air to breathe". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  5. 1 2 Smith, P. D. (2017-06-14). "Outskirts by John Grindrod review – life in the green belt". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  6. 1 2 Larman, Alexander (2017-06-11). "Outskirts by John Grindrod review – in praise of Britain's in-between bits". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  7. ↑ "2018 Shortlist - The Wainwright Prize". The Wainwright Prize. Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  8. ↑ Morrison, Richard (2023-07-07). "Iconicon by John Grindrod review — how to ruin a country, one building at a time". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  9. ↑ "Shortlists unveiled for inaugural Architectural Book Awards".
  10. ↑ Pavilion Books https://www.pavilionbooks.com/contributor/john-grindrod/
  11. ↑ Rogers, Jude (2025-01-04). "The week in audio: Today's guest editors; A Point of View; Monstrosities Mon Amour; Shipping Forecast Day – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  12. ↑ Pearman, Hugh (2022-03-16). "Iconicon by John Grindrod review – Britain transformed". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  13. ↑ Fiehn, Rob (31 August 2022). "The London Society | BOOK REVIEW | Iconicon". www.londonsociety.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
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