John Clayton, a native of Manchester, New Hampshire, is an author, free-lance journalist and feature columnist for the New Hampshire Union Leader. In addition to numerous awards for sports writing, feature writing and investigative reporting, he has been selected "Writer of the Year" by the New Hampshire Press Association, and three times, he has won "Best Local Column" honors from the New England Associated Press News Executives.
Clayton also received an Emmy award for his work with New Hampshire Public Television where he was the longtime host of "New Hampshire Crossroads," and in 2008, in recognition of his writing on behalf of veterans, he was honored by the Catholic War Veterans of America with the organization’s national Americanism Award.
The author is best known for his weekly "In The City" column, in which he profiles Manchester's noteworthy people and places. His column became such a hit that it has spawned six best-selling books on Manchester and New Hampshire.
A Queen City native, John attended West High School, and he is a charter member of the West High School Hall of Fame. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northeastern University and a master’s degree from Boston University’s School of Public Communication. He also completed a year of post–graduate studies in journalism as a Rotary Foundation Scholar at University College in Cardiff, Wales.