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I'm a 45-year-old writer currently living in London. In 2001, I published a book called How to Lose Friends & Alienate People about trying (and failing) to take Manhattan and I've written a sequel -- The Sound of No Hands Clapping -- about my equally unsuccessful attempt to make it in Hollywood. (Ironically, in 2008 How to Lose Friends & Alienate People was turned into a film starring Simon Pegg and Kirsten Dunst -- something you can read more about on my blog . Or click here to see a short film I made for the BBC about visiting the set in New York -- and, inevitably, being thrown off) For the past few years, I've been earning a living as a freelance journalist, mainly for the Guardian and the Spectator , where I worked as a drama critic for five years. In 2003, I co-wrote my first play, an adaptation of How to Lose Friends & Alienate People which I appeared in as myself. Since then I've written two more with the Spectator's current drama critic, Lloyd Evans: Who's The Daddy? (2005), which won a Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best New Comedy, and A Right Royal Farce (2006). From 2008, I've also been appearing as a regular judge on Top Chef . You can learn more about my current activities -- and access an archive of my work -- on www.tobyyoung.co.uk .