Tom Connolly

Tom has made award winning short films and spent twenty years directing commercials and music videos all over the world.

His first novel, The Spider Truces (a Financial Times Book of the Year), was shortlisted for the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award, Waverton Good Read Award and Brit Writers' Published Writer of the Year Award, and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. The Spider Truces and his second novel, Men Like Air (2016) were both published by Myriad.

He has written short stories and articles for Esquire magazine, The Observer, The Independent on Sunday, The Guardian and BBC Radio 4.

In 2022, he published a work of commercial up-lit fiction under his pen name Joe Portman, Separation for Beginners (Welbeck) with the next Joe Portman book coming in 2027 in Mountain Leopard Press.

His recent books include the photographic book, Fair Game, revealing the beautiful truth behind grassroots football. He is also the ghost-writer of Bloody Minded (Bloomsbury, 2023), the autobiography of professional cyclist Alex Dowsett, shortlisted for Sports Book of the Year 2024, as well as the upcoming memoirs of swimmer Mark Foster My Double Life (Bloomsbury, 2026) and fashion designer Roland Mouret I Am Roland Mouret: The Butcher’s Boy who Dressed the World (Quercus, 2026).

“Connolly's magical coming-of-age novel is a fierce, humane and hazily poetic work.” - Guardian

“A very fine, funny and moving read.” - David Baddiel

“An epic love letter to New York City, Men Like Airis bold, absorbing and very funny. Tom Connolly has a quiet brilliance.” - Evie Wyld