Elizabeth Buchan
Elizabeth Buchan began her career as a blurb writer at Penguin Books after graduating from the University of Kent with a double degree in English and History. She moved on to become a fiction editor at Random House before leaving to write full-time. Her novels include the award-winning Consider the Lily and the international bestseller, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman, which was made into a CBS Primetime Drama.
Isabelle Grey
Isabelle Grey has published nine novels, including the DI Grace Fisher crime series, and, as V.B. Grey, two novels of historical suspense, Tell Me How It Ends and Sisterhood . She began writing as a freelance journalist for national newspapers and magazines and non-fiction author (as Isabelle Anscombe), then became a television screenwriter of numerous popular crime dramas, including Midsomer Murders and Jimmy McGovern’s BAFTA-winning Accused.
Xiaolu Guo
Xiaolu Guo will discuss her latest nonfiction My Battle of Hastings – a portrait of a dislocated artist seeking to connect with the local history in the hope of finding a deeper connection to Britain. Xiaolu, as an author and as a character, chronicles a year living by the English Channel, sprayed by the grey waves and absorbed by the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reflecting upon the connection between everyday life and a brutal past, centered around the year 1066.
David Hewson
David Hewson is the author of more than 30 books in his three decades career. The latest, WHEN THE GERMANS COME, is a murder mystery set in Dover in the summer of 1940 at the height of the Battle of Britain. THE GARDEN OF ANGELS, set in Nazi occupied Venice, was a Times thriller of the year. His work includes adaptation of the Danish TV series THE KILLING and an original novel about the TV detective Baptiste as a young detective. A former journalist with theTimes, Sunday Times and Independent.
Erica James
Erica James is the author of twenty-six internationally bestselling novels. Her books are loved by readers looking for beautifully drawn relationships, emotionally powerful storylines and evocative settings. Erica grew up on nearby Hayling Island but now lives in Suffolk where several of her novels are set. When she’s not writing she’s an enthusiastic gardener and keen follower of F1. She also has a growing interest in doll’s houses, which came in handy while writing An Ideal Husband.
Paul Kerensa
Paul Kerensa is an English comedy writer and stand-up comedian.
He studied at Royal Grammar School, Guildford and the Guildford School of Acting. In 2002 Kerensa won ITV’s ‘Take The Mike’ Award, and was a finalist in The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards and the BBC New Comedy Awards. Kerensa won the BBC Radio Titheridge Prize, leading to writing credits on many major BBC Radio 4 shows. He wrote, and briefly appeared in, the television series Miranda. He was a co-writer on the television series Not Going Out.
Merle Nygate
Merle Nygate is a writer, script editor, author and screenwriting tutor. Her most recent novel, Honour Among Spies was a Times Book of the Month and a Times Top 10 Thriller of 2024. Her previous novel, The Righteous Spy won the Little Brown/UEA Crime Writing Award 2017 and was published in 2018 by Verve/No Exit Press. Previously she script edited Robin of Sherwood, winner of a BBC Audio Drama Award 2016 and a New York Festival Award 2017.
