Born in Northern Ireland and growing up in Belfast during the Troubles, Philip Blake escaped to Tasmania in 1974. He is a professional writer, a former national magazine columnist and the winner of an Australian Literature Board Fellowship. He was also one of Tasmania's most highly awarded advertising copywriters. A trained teacher, he has many years of
experience in teaching Plain English writing.
Finally, he is an experienced competition driver and co-driver, who has run in Targa Tasmania 25 times in eight different cars. He holds a diamond Targa trophy, is a member of the Targa Hall of Fame and is so far the only two-time winner of the Denny Hulme award.
He is a former A-grade racing motorcyclist and has twice won major Targa Tasmania competitions - in two different cars and in two different seats.