Mark Forsythe

A Short History of Drunkenness came out on 6 September 2018.

A Christmas Cornucopia: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Yuletide Traditions was published on 3 November 2016.

In June 2012, Forsyth gave a TEDX talk entitled "What’s a snollygoster? A short lesson in political speak".

The popularity of Inky Fool led to Forsyth's first book publishing deal in 2011 with Icon Books. In The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connection of The English Language, Forsyth explains the meanings and derivations of well-known words and phrases, and explores the strange connections between words in a stream-of-consciousness fashion. The book's title, originally called Point Blank Check Mate: The Inky Fool's Book of Word Association, references the poet John Milton who purportedly invented the word "etymologicon" to describe a book containing etymologies. The book's structure, described as whimsical, leads the reader to "unexpected coinages and devious linkages, sexy, learned and satisfyingly obscure." It is, according to reviewer Karin Schimke, "a cursory run through history presented with a wry eye and a peculiar sense of humor." Reviewer Robert McCrum wrote, "Not since Eats, Shoots & Leaves has a book about language...attracted so much attention in bookshops, running through successive reprints." The Etymologicon was a Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller in January 2012.

As a self-described journalist, proofreader, ghostwriter and pedant, Forsyth started a blog called the Inky Fool in 2009 as a forum to share his love of words. His posts often involve an exploration of words; where they come from and how they relate to each other. "Etymology is fun," Forsyth said in a Skepticality interview, "Some people talk about the true meaning. I just find it interesting and delightful and often just very, very funny. That's the main thing I love about etymology."

Forsyth attended Winchester College in Winchester, Hampshire, England from 1990 to 1995. He also studied English Language & Literature at Lincoln College, Oxford University from 1996 to 1999.

Mark Forsyth (born 2 April 1977) is a writer of entertaining non-fiction who came to prominence with a series of books concerning the meaning and etymology of English words.

While The Etymologicon falls into the category of edutainment, the examples Forsyth includes in the book are well researched and supported by evidence. His goal was to include as much scholarly information as "lightly" as possible. Forsyth researches words and phrases as far back to their original sources as he can find. "Often, the joy of the research," he said in a Chicago Tribune interview, "is finding examples of the original usages that have been lost for centuries. For example, humble pie used to be umble pie because the umbles were the innards of a deer (so it was the poor man's equivalent of venison pie). I actually found a recipe book from 1727 deep in the bowels of the British Library that gave instructions on how to make it. So I did. And it was delicious."