About The Compiler

James Wright, brought up on the tiny island of St Agnes on the Isles of Scilly and, like his Midlands parents, a life-long Wolves fan, began his career in non-League journalism when joining Tony Williams’s editorial staff at the Mail on Sunday Non-League Football magazine in August 1990. James soon assumed from Tony responsibility for the compilation of the Non-League Club Directory and edited the 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 editions of the best-selling annual. During this period, James was a founder member of the editorial team of Team Talk magazine, the top non-League periodical of the 1990s, and collated the acclaimed FA Cup Post War Club-by-Club Records. In 1995 James launched Non-League Newsdesk, a newsletter carrying up-to-date league tables and the week’s results.

Over the six seasons James published the title, Newsdesk became an immensely popular, no frills, weekly. However, the 2000 launch of the Non-League Paper coupled with the proliferation of information on the internet saw Newsdesk sales dwindle. James decided to team up with the Paper, and for the past seven seasons has collected and collated the four or five pages of minor results and tables that appear each Sunday. The challenge has proved immensely enjoyable despite the fact that it prevents James from following his beloved Taunton Town on away days.

But James regards the highlight of his career as the 2000 launch of the Non-League Newsdesk Annual. During his years compiling the immense, fully comprehesive, 1,000 plus page Non-League Club Directory he recognised the need for a much smaller publication to be available much earlier, i.e. in pre-season. The first edition of the Non-League Newsdesk Annual filled this void and was an immediate success outselling Alex Ferguson’s official autobiography in the Sunday Times chart in its first week. The 2002 edition surpassed all others by reaching the number one slot - staying there for a further week, and each subsequent edition has been eagerly awaited and sold rapidly, a feat that has justified the immense support given by Cherry Red Records.James lives in Taunton, Somerset with long-time partner Karen and ten year old daughter Rosie.