Philip Spires, born in 1952 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, spent his first ten years in Sharlston, then a mining village, followed by eight in Crofton, a mile nearer Wakefield. He went to London University, where he obtained a BSc from Imperial College and a PGCE from King's. After two years as a VSO in Kenya, he taught in London for 16 years and devoted much of his spare time to assisting an NGO concerned with development and human rights. After completing an MA in 1992, he worked in Brunei technical education until 1999. He then worked in Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates for three years. Since 2003, he has lived in Spain, and has completed a PhD in education’s role in Philippine development and his first published novel, Mission. What really interests me is quality fiction, books with a strong historical and geagraphical setting, with challenging psychological and conceptual frameworks.

PhD in Education's role in Philippine development
MA in Education
BSc in Chemical Engineering
ACGI

Mission, an African novel set in Kenya by Philip Spires

Philip Spires commonplace book and journal
Mission is set in mid-1970s Kenya. Five characters, a priest, a politician, a teacher, a school graduate and a retired army officer see a series of events from their own perspectives and thus respond differently to one particular event. The central chapter is thirty years later and is set in London to offer a perspective on how lives change. The novel deals with the concept of identity, seen through filters of poverty, religion, politics and, underpinning everything, an idea of justice, a continuum within which each character is seen to pursue some personal mission.

A Fool's Knot
Philip Spires announces the completion of his second book in his Kenya trilogy. A Fool's Knot is complete and will be available soon.