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Justin Richards

British writer

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ6318053 ↗
Source-derived summary

Justin Richards (14 September 1961 – 28 June 2026) was a British writer of science fiction, fantasy, and adventure fiction. He wrote science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian and early 20th-century London, as well as contemporary adventure stories. He was best known for writing numerous spin-off novels, reference books, and audio plays based on the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Richards served as Creative Consultant for the BBC Books range of Doctor Who novels until 2017.

Background

Richards was born in Epping, Essex, on 14 September 1961. After attending Dean Close School in Cheltenham, he obtained a BA (Hons) in English and Theatre at the University of Warwick.

As well as his literary career, Richards worked as a technical writer, editor, programmer, and user interface designer at IBM, and as an errand boy in a hotel.

Richards was married and had two sons, Julian and Chris. He lived in Warwickshire until his death on 28 June 2026, at the age of 64. He had been suffering from early-onset dementia in the years prior to his death.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Justin Richards” is british writer. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Justin, Richards and British, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1961, 2026, 2017—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1961-09-14. For this dossier, Justin, Richards and British is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “british writer” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6318053. VIAF identifies the subject as 76615898. The Library of Congress control number is no96054009. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1961, 2026 and 2017.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Justin Richards”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Justin Richards primary sources, Justin Richards archive and Justin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Justin Richards”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Justin Richards” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.