Rick Gekoski
Richard Abraham Gekoski | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 25, 1944 United States |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, broadcaster, rare book dealer, academic |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Known for | Rare book dealing, writing, broadcasting |
Richard Abraham Gekoski (born August 25, 1944) is a British writer and broadcaster originally from the United States, known for his work as a rare book dealer and his previous role as a faculty member in the English Department at Warwick University.
Early life and education
Gekoski grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, where his father Bernard practiced law and his mother Edith was employed as a social worker. In 1954, the family relocated to Huntington, Long Island. He completed his secondary education at Huntington High School in 1962. Gekoski then earned a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966, during which time he chaired the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education. His academic excellence was recognized with election to Phi Beta Kappa in 1965, along with awards including a Danforth Scholarship, a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, and a Thouron Award in 1966. He pursued further studies at Oxford University, attending Merton College, Oxford, where he achieved both a B.Phil. in 1968 and a D.Phil. in English in 1972, also earning a tennis blue during his time there.
Academic career
Starting in 1971, Gekoski joined the English Department at Warwick University, where he co-directed the B.A. program combining philosophy and literature. He advanced to senior lecturer by 1980 and held the position of chair of the Faculty of Arts for two terms. In 1984, he left academia to establish himself as a dealer specializing in rare books.
Rare books
The Guardian characterized Gekoski's career in bookselling by noting that he prefers "a superior class of book" and has succeeded through talent, fortune, and boldness. He launched two private presses: The Sixth Chamber Press and The Bridgewater Press (in partnership with Tom Rosenthal), producing limited edition works by distinguished authors. Acknowledged as one of the foremost rare book dealers globally, Gekoski holds membership in both the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (ABA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB).
Writer
Gekoski has written four non-fiction works centered on his interests in football, bookselling, reading, and art. His publications include Staying Up, Tolkien’s Gown, Outside of a Dog—which was shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley Prize—and Lost, Stolen or Shredded. Celebrated for his captivating narrative style and perceptiveness, Colm Tóibín described him as “a supreme example of a natural and skilled storyteller,” while Tatler compared him to Bill Bryson within the literary world. His first novel, Darke (2017), earned shortlist recognition for both the McKitterick Prize and the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award. This was followed by A Long Island Story (2019), Darke Matter (2020), and After Darke (2022), collectively forming the James Darke trilogy. The London Times praised him as "a late-flowering genius of a novelist."
He contributed regularly to the Guardian online book section through his column "Finger on the Page," discussing subjects related to bookselling, reading habits, writing craft, and pedagogy.
Broadcaster
Gekoski is a frequent voice on radio programs as an expert on rare books and the literary marketplace. He produced three series titled Rare Books, Rare People for BBC Radio 4, which critic Gillian Reynolds acclaimed as “one of the gems of Radio 4.” Subsequently, he created two series called Lost, Stolen, or Shredded: The History of Some Missing Works of Art, also broadcast on Radio 4.
Personal life
In 2005, Gekoski participated as a judge for the Booker Prize and was a fervent supporter of John Banville's The Sea, a decision that sparked considerable debate. He later led the panel of judges for the 2011 Man Booker International Prize, which honored Philip Roth.
His professional activities are spread across writing, book dealing, broadcasting, and lecturing. Gekoski has instructed courses in creative non-fiction at the Arvon Foundation and contributed as a member of their development board. Having previously served as a trustee and board member of English PEN, he was named honorary vice-president in 2014 after orchestrating "First Editions, Second Thoughts," a Sotheby's auction featuring annotated first editions by distinguished authors. This event generated £438,000 to benefit English PEN’s initiatives, with participation from notable figures such as Julian Barnes, Quentin Blake, Kazuo Ishiguro, J. K. Rowling, Colm Tóibín, and Jeanette Winterson.
Gekoski lives with his wife, Belinda Kitchin, in a seventeenth-century residence located in Salisbury, and they also own a property situated in New Zealand’s Tukituki valley. He has two children from an earlier marriage and became a British citizen in 2008.
Books
- Joseph Conrad. The Moral World of the Novelist. Published by Paul Elek and Barnes and Noble, 1978.
- William Golding: A Bibliography. Co-authored with P. A. Grogan. – André Deutsch, 1994.
- Staying Up: A Fan Behind the Scenes in the Premiership. – Little Brown, 1998.
- Tolkien's Gown and Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books. – Constable and Robinson, 2004. Released in the United States as Nabokov's Butterfly by Carroll and Graf, 2004.
- Outside of a Dog. A Bibliomemoir. – Constable and Robinson, 2009.
- Lost, Stolen or Shredded: Stories of Missing Works of Art and Literature. – Profile Books, 2013.
- Darke. A novel. Canongate Books, 2017.
- A Long Island Story. Canongate Books, 2018.
- Darke Matter. Constable Books, 2020.
- Guarded by Dragons: Encounters with Rare Books and Rare People, Constable Books, 2021.
- After Darke, Constable Books, 2022.
External links
- Profile, Rogers, Coleridge and White literary agents
- "The treasure hunter", 25 March 2005, The Sydney Morning Herald
- "'I thought you’d like to read this': the etiquette of gifting books" by Elle Hunt, The Guardian, 13 December 2019