Paul is the proud son of a dedicated NHS doctor and nurse – Sam and Sheila Twivy - both of whom instilled a love of literature in him from a young age.
He studied English at Magdalen College, Oxford and acted in lots of pretentious plays, even writing his own in blank verse (un-performable!). He then took up comedy in an effort to stay sane. He took over the running of the Oxford Etceteras from Richard Curtis, and wrote, directed and acted with Ian Hislop in comedy revues, including several highly successful shows at the Oxford Playhouse and the Edinburgh Festival.
After University, Paul and Ian became Capital Radio’s resident comedians, performing on shows such as “Thank God it’s Friday”. Paul also wrote and performed with the lovely, if mad, Chris Tarrant, on his celebrated radio show.
Paul then focused his attention on a career in advertising, becoming one of the UK’s best-known admen. Indeed, one of his many writing projects is to create the equivalent of “Mad Men” for the golden era of British advertising, which was every bit as colourful as its Madison Avenue equivalent, if marginally less stylish.
In 2004, Paul researched, collated and edited a not-for-profit book called “Change the World for a Fiver” which has sold 1.2 million copies worldwide and pioneered the idea of millions of small, everyday actions that could tackle issues such as climate change.
He also wrote “Be Your Own Politician” about the need for a coalition of Citizens, Government, Business and the Voluntary Sector to tackle the huge issues we all now face. The book’s subtitle - “Why it’s time for a new kind of politics” - is probably even more relevant now than when it was published in 2015.
“Hallowed Ground” is his debut novel and is the first of a trilogy. It is intended for young and older adults alike.
In 1993 Paul had a play professionally staged and is currently writing another entitled “Chaos Theory” about our current woes.
Paul is married to Gaby Guz, an artist and potter, and has five children - Sam, Josh, Max, Eve and Clara – who were his earliest readers and remain his most important.