Wire Creator David Simon Confirmed For Edinburgh TV Festival.

David Simon To Give Masterclass At Edinburgh International Television Festival

LONDON May 5, 2009: Award-winning TV producer, journalist and author David Simon is to deliver a Masterclass at this year’s MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, which takes place 28-30 August. The successful creator, writer and producer will explore his early career as a crime reporter and how this inspired him to go on to create and produce a number of long-running critically acclaimed TV series in the US including the hottest and most talked about show of the year, The Wire.

Working as a crime reporter for 13 years at the Baltimore Sun, Simon wrote two novels, Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets and The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood, both of which were critically acclaimed TV shows. The Corner, an HBO mini-series, picked up three Emmy Awards. Based on his real life experiences at the Baltimore Sun, The Wire is a gripping and realistic police drama set in Baltimore. The series, which ran from 2001 to 2008 on HBO, was first shown in the UK on channel FX and is now enjoying ratings success on BBC2. He was also writer and executive producer on HBO’s Generation Kill, a mini-series depicting US Marines in the early days of the Iraq conflict. He is also a contributor for The New Yorker, Esquire and The Washington Post.

Dominic West, star of The Wire and Channel 4’s The Devil’s Whore will also be a guest at this year’s MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival. Sheffield born West, has played the gritty hard-drinking police detective Jimmy McNulty in The Wire since the show’s launch. He is also an accomplished theatre and film actor.

The David Simon Masterclass will take place during the Festival weekend, and he will join an array of speakers from across the industry. This year’s MacTaggart Lecture has recently been announced as James Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive, Europe and Asia, News Corporation, and Chairman of BSkyB.

Registration for the 2009 MGEITF is now open. The early bird rate of £488.75 including VAT is currently available until May 29th. Click here for more information http://www.mgeitf.co.uk/home/mgeitf.aspx

Press Contact: Debra Johnson, Taylor Herring PR. Tel: 0208 206 5151 [email protected]