Novelist Tony Parsons has been unveiled as The Sun on Sunday’s newest columnist, joining from tabloid rival the Daily Mirror.
Parsons, who announced his departure from the Mirror after 18 years this weekend, said he was “thrilled” to be joining the UK’s best selling newspaper.
"Every footballer wants to play for Real Madrid, every actor wants to work in Hollywood," he said. "And any journalist who truly wants to reach millions of the British public wants a column in The Sun.
"These are challenging times for the newspaper industry but I am convinced that The Sun’s editor David Dinsmore, has the vision, strategy and resources to ensure that The Sun is one of the industry’s success stories in the twenty-first century. I am proud and excited to be a member of David’s new team at The Sun.”
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The news comes after Parsons’ leaving column in the Mirror. He wrote:
“I am going now but I wish nothing but the best to this great old newspaper, to my brilliant colleagues who remain and – above all – to you, dear, beloved Daily Mirror reader,” he wrote.
“You see, I know you, and I have known you all my life.
“You are the family that raised me.
“You are the hearts who loved me.
“You are the sharp, questioning minds who put books into my hands and taught me to look at the stars.
“You are the faces who looked at me across the breakfast tables of my childhood and said ‘Haven’t you finished with that paper yet?’”
His move to The Sun on Sunday comes after the title advertised for 16 new editorial staff last month.
"Tony is a major journalistic talent who will complement our range of world-class writers,” said Sun editor David Dinsmore.
"His appointment signals our continued investment in the Sunday edition as we seek to cement our place as the market leader and develop our fantastic new digital package, Sun+."
His first column will appear in the paper on 15 September.
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