Lucky: What happened when I decided to throw away money
What follows is a true story. It seems so bizarre to me, even now, that I find it hard to reconcile with myself. Was that really me? Surely I didn’t do anything quite this crazy? But it was. And I did. Though whether it was really crazy or not, you’ll have to judge for…
Where are you, Sue George? Help me to track down the vanishing lady behind the new book!
I have a new non-fiction book out in November, published by Little, Brown in hardback. It’ll be one of the Christmas display books at Waterstones. I guess lots of people will see it, and of course I hope lots of them read it. But mainly, I hope lots of people see the first page……
Premiere: Official preview clip from ‘The Notorious Mr Bout’
There’s a great documentary feature film on arms smuggler Viktor Bout at Sundance 2014 this week. I’m part of it, but don’t let that put you off – it’s by the team who made the award-winning Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer last year. There’s more detail below, but in the meantime, here’s the…
Film: Feature documentary ‘The Notorious Mr Bout’ to premiere at Sundance
[Update to this story 12/1/14: The Notorious Mr Bout has just been added to the BBC’s Storyville season for 2015/16.] The Notorious Mr Bout, a feature-length documentary film on ‘Merchant of Death’ Viktor Bout – in which I appear and on which I consulted – is to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.…
1,217 words for absence
Lena is a close friend. She’s been my friend for more than 20 years now, so I’m lucky. She’s a beautiful, playful, kind, lovably geeky girl/woman – from Uganda by way of North London’s Jubilee line Big Yellow Storage hinterlands, then Gloucestershire, Cambridge and the Big Smoke. We were flatmates for years – the…
News: New book, ‘Parting Shots’ out June 2013
I can finally share some details on the next book. ‘Parting Shots’ is going to be the secret history of our times and society, as revealed through resignations. And I’d like your recommendations! Mostly, we’re talking Rebekah Brookses and Thatcher cabinet ministers, but I’d love to quote some unknown examples, too – and…
News: Catch Matt performing in the Literary Death Match at London’s Stoke Newington Literary Festival, June 2nd!
I’ll be facing off against some of Britain’s best writers and comedians in the 26th Literary Death Match at London’s hipsterest literary festival this June. If you’ve not yet had the pleasure of sampling Outlaws Inc., or enjoyed it but suspect what it might be missing is a live, onstage setting in which its…
Video: “Cocaine coffee tables?!” CNN bosses, the craziest cop in Brazil, and me
It started perfectly innocently. I was out with a friend on Thursday, and the phone rang. I didn’t pick up – it was ten o’clock, and I’d worked my way through six large glasses of what I remember being an increasingly smooth Italian red, and a couple of bottles of Grolsch for good measure.…
News: Australia wakes up to Outlaws Inc after “sensational” ABC Breakfast show interview
This morning I was a guest on Australia’s no.1 breakfast show on ABC. During the link-up interview with host Mike Rowland (a still from the show, above), we talked about how the cut-throat economics of the global marketplace in everything from aid delivery to the food in our supermarkets feeds a shadow industry of mercenary…
Free download: Listen to Matt’s BBC 5Live interview
Download and enjoy the full 25min clip of Matt’s discussion of the anti-heroes of his book Outlaws Inc. with BBC Radio 5Live‘s Giles Dilnot! It’s an M4a/iTunes compatible soundfile. Download here