Bracewell is a writer, novelist and cultural commentator bsed in the North West. As well as writing about contemporary art, often for Frieze, he has wirtten a number of books including a cultural history of England, England is Mine: Pop Life in Albion From Wilde to Goldie (1997), The Nineties: When Surface was Depth (2002), and Roxyism (2004), a new book about the art rock group Roxy Music.