Martin Wainwright MBE is a British journalist and author. He left The Guardian after 37 years at the end of March 2013.^[1]

He was born in Leeds,^[2] and educated at Shrewsbury School and Oxford University. His father Richard Wainwright was the Liberal MP for Colne Valley (1966–70, February 1974–87) after a career in accountancy.^[3]

Wainwright was The Guardian's Northern Editor^[2] for seventeen years until the end of 2012, when he was succeeded by Helen Pidd.^[1] His contributions to the newspaper have mostly reflected this emphasis^[4] but not exclusively.^[5]

He has written several books on northern or countryside topics, including a biography of the unrelated Alfred Wainwright and a guide to the Coast to Coast Walk. Other books are on the Morris Minor and Mini cars. He writes a blog about another interest, moths.^[6]

Wainwright was awarded an MBE in the 2000 New Year Honours, "For services to the National Lottery Charities Board in Yorkshire and Humberside."^[7]

He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Leeds in 2013.^[8]

He is chair of the trustees of the Scurrah Wainwright Charity, named after his grandfather Henry Scurrah Wainwright OBE (1877-1968), a Leeds chartered accountant with interests in social reform and delphiniums,^[9][10][11] and a trustee of the Andrew Wainwright Reform Trust, named for his brother who died in 1974.^[12][13]

One of Martin Wainwright's two sisters, Hilary, is the radical academic who has long been associated with the Red Pepper magazine.

His two sons are both journalists – Oliver^[14] is the Guardian's architecture and design critic^[15] and Tom is the Economist's Mexico City bureau chief.^[16]

• Wainwright: the Man Who Loved the Lakes, 2007, BBC Books, ISBN 978-1-84607-294-9
• Guardian Book of the Countryside (By Ruth Petrie & Martin Wainwright), 2008, Cornerstone, ISBN 978-0-85265-109-4
• A Mini Adventure: 50 years of the iconic small car, 2009, Aurum Press, ISBN 978-1-84513-471-6
• True North 2009, Guardian Books, ISBN 978-0-85265-213-8
• Morris Minor; the Biography: sixty years of Britain's favourite car 2010, Aurum Press, ISBN 978-1-84513-509-6
• The Coast to Coast Walk (Recreational Path Guides), 2010 (revised ed), Aurum Press, ISBN 978-1-84513-560-7
• Wild City: Encounters with Urban Wildlife, 25 May 2011, Aurum Press, ISBN 978-1-84513-529-4