Keir Thomas

Keir Thomas (born 1972) is an English journalist and author specialising in computing, although he also runs a poetry press.

Early life and education
Thomas was born in Bury, England and grew up in Manchester.

He was educated at Trinity C.E. High School and Xaverian College, before going on to receive a first class BA Hons degree from the University of Glamorgan.

Magazine career
Starting his journalism career in 1996, Thomas served on the editorial staff of several national British computer magazines at Future Publishing, Dennis Publishing and Ziff-Davis, before moving on to edit several titles at Live Publishing.

He edited PC Utilities, Linux User & Developer, PC Extreme, plus various spin-off titles. Magazines he was a staff member on include PC Plus, Computer Buyer and PC Direct.

Thomas continues to write regularly for several magazines, including Micro Mart, Writers' Forum and iCreate.

Book authorship
In 2004 Thomas wrote his first computer book, Beginning SUSE Linux (Apress). The following year he wrote Beginning Ubuntu Linux (Apress), which became the first English-language title to cover the fledgling operating system. It won a Linux Journal award and was a best-seller for its publisher.

Other books Thomas has written include Ubuntu Kung Fu (Pragmatic Bookshelf) and Mac Kung Fu (Pragmatic Bookshelf). He wrote Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference, which has been read by over one million people.

Recently he has self-published several $0.99 Kindle eBook titles, such as Working at the Ubuntu Command Line Prompt, which consistently tops the Amazon best-seller charts in its category for both print and electronic publishing.

Blogging
Thomas has blogged professionally for PC World and MacWorld sites in the US and UK. He also blogged for Cult of Mac.

Poetry publishing
As a "professional hobby" Thomas runs Puppywolf, a poetry press specialising in authors working or living in Manchester, United Kingdom.