Pamplona Bullfights

Alexander Fiske-Harrison

Alexander Fiske-Harrison is a British author, journalist, conservationist, bull-runner and former bull-fighter. He grew up in England before moving to Spain. He studied large mammal biology and animal behaviour at the University of Oxford. He also trained as a bullfighter in Andalusia with matadors including Juan José Padilla, Cayetano Rivera Ordóñez and Eduardo Dávila Miura.

His book Into The Arena: The World Of The Spanish Bullfight was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book Of The Year Award 2011, and his story of Pamplona, ‘Les Invincibles’, was shortlisted for The Hemingway Prize 2016 in France. In Spain he has been invited speaker at the Foundation of Taurine Studies, at the University of Seville and for the Ambassador of Spain to the United Kingdom. He has written and spoken on the world of the bulls for national and international media including The Times, The New York Times, Newsweek, GQ magazine, the BBC, CNN, and the Discovery Channel.

He first ran with the bulls in Pamplona in 2009 and, with the exception of 2010 – when he was occupied with bullfighting in Andalusia – he has run every year since in the encierros, ‘bull-runs’, of San Fermín, as well as those of other towns across Spain including San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid), Cuéllar (Castile and León), Tafalla and Falces (Navarre).

From the forthcoming book The Bulls Of Pamplona, edited by Fiske-Harrison, and co-authored with John Hemingway – grandson of Ernest – Capt. (Ret’d) Dennis Clancey of Running Of The Bulls Inc., Joe Distler, Larry Belcher and the photographer Jim Hollander, with contributions from Beatrice Welles – daughter of Orson – Spanish and Basque bull-runners such as Julen Madina, Jokin Zuasti and the Mayor of Pamplona.

Alexander is available for private sessions on learning about bullfighting, which include a visit to a bullfight during which he will provide a narrative of the spectacle as it unfolds. Please contact us for more information.  Alexander also contributes to our ethics section on bullfighting which provides resources on the topic.