Our Authors.

TANIA AHSAN is a journalist, author and artist based in London. She has previously written travel and lifestyle pieces for a variety of UK publications including Metro, The Guardian, The London Paper, Psychologies and Natural Health. She has edited magazines for a variety of publishers including IPC Media and Feast Publications. She is considered a mind, body, spirit expert and her first book is THE BRILLIANT BOOK OF CALM (Infinite Ideas, May 2008).

Tania’s interests include vintage and retro living, counter-culture and alternative healing. Her paintings and sculptures are inspired by tribal and ritual art and are held in a number of international private collections.

Her website is www.taniaahsan.com

Books:

• THE BRILLIANT BOOK OF CALM (Infinite Ideas, May 2008).

DR JENNIFER ASHCROFT is a clinical psychologist who has recently retired from the NHS and now works privately. In addition to her clinical practice during the last 30 years, she was also Director of the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology based at Lancaster University. One of her specialist areas is treatment of adults with mental health difficulties, including those related to anxiety.

She gained her PhD in psychology from the University of Wales and then did her clinical psychology training based at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London. She is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

Hobbies include:

• books (favourites – The Blind Assassin; The God of Small Things)
• music (favourites – Verve; Muse; Leonard Cohen; Nick Cave)
• comedy (favourites – Russell Brand, Peter Kay)
• TV (favourites – Six feet Under; Dexter)

Publications to date:

Numerous academic papers (many related to psychosocial effects of breast cancer); articles in Slimmer magazine in the 80s, plus three books:

• Ashcroft, J.J. & Owens, R.G. WEIGHT CONTROL IN PREGNANCY (Thorsons, 1986)
• Ashcroft, J.J. & Owens, R.G. WATCH YOUR CHILD'S WEIGHT(Oxford University Press, 1987)
• Ashcroft, J.J. & Ashcroft, J.B.  THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WEIGHT CONTROL - 'GET SLIM AND STAY SLIM' (Oxford University Press, 1989) This book is also published in Italian, Spanish, and Malay
• ANXIETY: AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE (Need2Know Books, 2011) (preorder)

MARK BEAUMONT is a music journalist and author who is best known for exposing Keith Richards’ dad-snorting habits in NME during his decade-long tenure as staff writer but has also contributed to The Times, The Daily Express, The Guardian, The Mail On Sunday, Uncut, Melody Maker, Loaded, The Modern Review and Vox. He’s often to be spotted bitching about celebrities on Sky One programmes called things like When Pop Stars Get Pissed and published his first music biography Out Of This World: The Story Of Muse via Omnibus in October 2008 – his second, on Placebo, is due for publication in April 2009. Somehow over the past 18 years of full-time band-destroying he’s had time to pen five novels, the latest of which, the shocking and controversial Three Minutes, is currently under construction, concerning an amorphous narrator who lives in people’s bodies for the last three minutes of their lives. Mark Beaumont, the music journalist and author, would like to make clear that he has never once cycled the world, although he is considering cycling Leeds.

Books:

• OUT OF THIS WORLD: THE STORY OF MUSE (Omnibus October 2008)
• PLACEBO (April, 2009)

SAM BOMPAS & HARRY PARR are the founders of Bompas & Parr, a fine jelly company that makes bespoke moulds and hosts spectacular culinary events. Sam & Harry have worked with some of the world’s leading architects including Lord Foster, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw and Will Alsop designing jellies. Heston Blumenthal has worked with them to create the world’s ultimate wobbly jelly for his series Feast.

Their projects include a jelly banquet for over 2000 people, a glow-in-the-dark dessert chamber for Mark Ronson’s most recent birthday and hosting the UK’s first breathable G&T cocktail at an installation called Alcoholic Architecture.

Books:

• JELLY WITH BOMPAS & PARR (Pavilion, Anova, June 2010).
• COCKTAILS WITH BOMPAS & PARR (Pavilion, Anova, June 2011).

JANINE BULLMAN's first book ‘Punk Fiction’; an anthology of short stories based on Punk songs has received great reviews and was published by Portico in April 2009. She is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing and has spent the last ten years working as press officer to pop stars. She currently lives in East London with her husband and nutty cat. She also writes for Mojo and Record Collector magazines.

Books:

• PUNK FICTION (Portico, April 2009)

LEE BULLMAN's true crime book ‘Blowback’ was published by Pan Macmillan in spring 2009 and he is currently researching his second. He lives amongst an ever growing collection of sensationalist paperbacks with his motorcycling wife and their elderly cat in East London. He recently gave up smoking and is happy to announce he currently has no outstanding warrants for his arrest.

Books:

• BLOWBACK (Pan Macmillan, February 2009)

CATHY BUSSEY graduated from the London School of Economics in 2002 and set about building a career as a journalist. Her first job was trainee reporter for her local newspaper, attending major crime scenes and crown court cases one day and village fetes and parish council meetings the next.

Cathy has worked for a range of weekly and daily newspapers and magazines and written extensively on social affairs, women's issues, health, lifestyle, media and PR. She is currently features editor at PR industry 'bible' PRWeek, known for frequently out-scooping the tabloid and broadsheet press and having access to behind-the-scenes operators in industries ranging from City finance to Whitehall to showbiz. She also writes for other publications and websites on a freelance basis.

Cathy's hobbies include horse riding, cycling, cooking and reading everything from feminist literature and Jane Austen to glossy magazines and celebrity blogs. She lives in Streatham, south London with her husband Noel.

Books:

• BRILLIANT PR (Prentice Hall/ Pearson Education, pub 2011)

SHARON BYRNE is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist. She is currently working on her next screenplay with co-writer Melissa Garner called ‘The Trophy Shop’. Sharon lectures at the University of Kent in Writing for Stage and Screen and independently, teaching Fiction and Poetry for a mental health charity known as Together. Sharon has a BA in Creative Writing from Middlesex University. GUTTED, an adaptation from the play, THE BLUECOATS, was short listed at the Moondance Film Festival in 2007.

Plays:

• ‘THE BLUE COATS’ produced and directed by Sharon Byrne as part of ‘Wordfest’ for the Canterbury Festival.
• CHARLIE’S WAKE, produced and directed by Anne O’Leary, at the Finborough Theatre, London.

PAUL EMANUELLI was born in Stoke-on-Trent, of Welsh parents and Italian grandparents. He went to University in Cardiff and stayed in Wales for a few years before moving to Shropshire and then to Somerset. Paul studied creative writing for several years at his local further education college and on occasional courses at Bath University, concentrating at first on short stories. He was a prize winner in the short story competition at the Wells Literary Festival in 2004. 

AVON STREET is his first novel. It is set in Victorian Bath in 1850, a city which by then was in decline. Going behind the Georgian facades beloved of innumerable period dramas, it exposes a city rife with poverty, crime and hypocrisy. Paul is now working on a second historical novel, also based in Somerset. He lives outside Bath with his wife and two children.

Books:

• AVON STREET (Max Crime, John Blake, pub TBC).

NICK FITZHERBERT developed his interest in magic midway through a 20-year career in PR consultancy. The more he learned about magic, the more he realised how powerful many of the psychological principles that lie behind the tricks could be in business. Achieving membership of The Magic Circle enabled Nick to refine his thinking and develop the ‘Rules of Magic’ – principles that come instinctively to the best magicians and prove equally effective in business.

The Rules form the backbone of training programmes that Nick delivers to sales, marketing and finance teams for companies such as Halifax and Conde Nast, industry organizations including Chartered Institute of PR and CPD Foundation, and a variety of leading PR companies. In the media Nick has been seen on BBC2’s Working Lunch, heard on the Chris Evans Show and read in publications including Management Today, the Guardian and Business Life.

Books:

• PRESENTATION MAGIC! (Marshall Cavendish, pub TBC).

LINDA FLYNN is a Head of English, Public Relations Officer and a
writer of children’s books.

Hate at First Bite, which featured a rescue dog will be published in
July 2010. My Dad’s a Drag, which is humorous young adult fiction, is
currently under offer. Both books won Best First Chapter in the
Writers’ Billboard competition.

Two of her short stories are due to be published in the Bridge House
anthologies. Her adult story, To Take Flight will be available from
the 13th July in Going Places. Linda’s 7000 word teen fiction, The
Wild Ones is due for publication on the 15th October, 2010.

Linda has had eight educational books published to date; six with the
Heinemann Fiction Project. In addition she has written for a number of
newspapers and magazines, including theatre reviews and several
articles on dogs.

Linda’s interests include reading, swimming, visiting the theatre and
walking her rescue dogs.

Linda is a member of the Society of Authors and the National Union of Teachers. Her website is: www.lindaflynn.org.uk

Books:

• TO TAKE FLIGHT - GOING PLACES (Bridge House, 13th July 2010.)
• HATE AT FIRST BITE (Flamelily Books, 30th July 2010.)
• THE WILD ONES (Bridge House, 15th October 2010)
• MY DAD'S A DRAG (Little Acorn Press, pub TBC)
  

ADAM FUEST is a producer, writer and guitarist of note, and owner of Twin Peaks Recording Studio in Wales. With 17 gold, silver and platinum albums to his name, he has worked with such luminaries as The Cure, Babyshambles and John Entwhistle, to name just three. Adam started early and engineered the soundtrack to Bladerunner at the tender age of 19 when he was Vangelis' personal engineer. Adam has an extensive guitar collection of his own which he aims to add to on a continual basis.

Books:

• THE POCKET GUIDE TO GUITARS with Adele Nozedar, Remember When (Pen & Sword, pub TBC)

MELISSA GARNER holds a degree in English [Creative Writing/ Drama] from UCLA and began her working career in film, where she worked with such legends as George Lucas and Aaron Spelling. Her productions are diverse and range from “Eerie, Indiana” to “Equal Justice”. Melissa’s first UK series was for Channel Four and entitled “Dirty Weekend” where she documented all the music festivals in England in the summer of 1997. She has also directed trailers, commercials, sponsorship and idents. Her work includes such high profile campaigns as: “The Shooting Gallery” with Shane Meadows, “Equinox”, “The Turner Prize”, “TFI Friday”, “The Eleven o’ Clock Show”, “The Big Breakfast” and “Something for the Weekend.” She is currently writing feature films [“Gutted”, “The Trophy Shop”] with Irish playwright Sharon Byrne and has just completed her first novel.

CLARE GEE has written for The Guardian, Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan, Mail on Sunday and various other magazines.

Her fictionalised memoir, HOOKED, was published in May 2010. The title is set in London during the 90s and early 2000s. The book is filled with explicit depictions of the naughty antics that go on in so-called private members’ clubs in the Capital: drugs, sex, prostitution and lots and lots of booze and let’s not forget the very real aftermath of excessive indulgence.

Nothing is held back. She tells her story in a brutal and humorous manner bringing to life the emotional collapse that can ensue when someone chases happiness in the wrong places.

Aside from writing Clare temps in offices around London and some of her favourite things are: sleep, music, ice-cream, laughter, Shalimar perfumed body lotion, spontaneous weekends away preferably away from a city, but failing countryside – anywhere hot will do! 

Books:

• HOOKED (Mainstream, May 2010).

KIM GILMOUR has been a technology journalist for more than ten years. Her interest in all things internet-related emerged after she discovered the web while sitting in her university's computer lab back in 1995. (One of the first websites she ever visited was the Internet Movie Database.)

Born in Sydney, Australia, Kim completed an undergraduate journalism degree at Charles Sturt University in western New South Wales, before moving to London in 2000. She enjoys writing about how the internet can benefit society and has written for Which? Computing, Web User, Computer Shopper, Internet Magazine and Practical Photography.

In her spare time Kim enjoys independent travel (in 2007 she travelled overland from London to Bangkok and has also visited the micronation known as the Sovereignty of Sealand, which consists of a disused WWII gun platform). Her other interests are photography and writing - she's self-published a novel for teenagers, called Drive to Nowhere.

Her website is at www.kimgilmour.com.

Books:

• EBAY BUSINESS ALL-IN-ONE (Wiley, 2009) with Steve Hill
• PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE OLDER AND WISER (John Wiley, January 2010)

AMANDA HALLAY is a novelist, journalist, cultural trend analyst and university lecturer. She grew up in England, spent seventeen years in Paris, and is now trying to live ‘The American Dream’ in The States. She is the International Fashion Editor of Couture and Men Mode magazines, and currently teaches Cultural History and Writing at a leading college in Manhattan. In her novels, Amanda uses the comedic form to explore various aspects of 20th Century popular culture – and the people who flounder therein! Her first novel, FAB!, pokes affectionate fun at almost every aspect of Sixties Britain (including Gangland Twins and The Eurovision Song Context). She is currently working on her autobiography (Hallay’s Comet: The Story of a Star That Isn’t Famous), and is also collaborating with an American writer on a non-comedic television series set in Wartime Los Angeles entitled Terminal Island.

Amanda holds a B.A in Art History and an M.A in Creative Writing, and is beginning her PhD (her thesis explores trends in nostalgia and exotica during times of war).

Her hobbies include writing bad songs, making good cocktails, True Life Crime, and an indiscriminate love of anything ‘retro’.

Books:

• POPULAR CULTURE: THE 1950s (Remember When, Pen & Sword, pub. July 2011)
• KITSCH COLLECTABLES (Remember When, Pen & Sword, pub. TBC)
• THE BRITISH HOLIDAY (Remember When, Pen & Sword, pub. TBC)
• TRULY CLASSIC COCKTAILS (Skyhorse Publishing, USA, pub. fall 2011)
• VOODOO: A POPULAR HISTORY (History Press, pub TBC)

E.A. HANKS lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is currently at work on her first novel for children, Piper Peregrine Vs. The Consortium For Better Thinking which is due out Autumn 2011 from Delacorte (Random House, US). She previously worked at Vanity Fair Magazine and was an Associate News Editor at the Huffington Post.  She also blogs at Impudent Ways, which you shouldn't hold against her. She has a hypothetical long-haired Daschund named HUAC and a hypothetical one-eyed cat named Grimm. She looks forward to the day when her pets stop being imaginary.

Books:

• PIPER PEREGRINE VS. THE CONSORTIUM FOR BETTER THINKING (Random House US / Delacorte, pub. Autumn 2011)

SARAH HERMAN is a very bright young writer. Sarah holds a 1st class degree in Journalism and has worked for Summersdale Publishers, and as an assistant editor for Titan Publishing Group. Her first book DOES ANYTHING EAT SHIT has sold more than 30,000 copies and continues to sell very well.

Books:

• Audio book narrator credits for Summersdale: GET TOP MARKS IN YOUR EXAMS AND GAP YEAR VOLUNTEER (2007).
• I LOVE BABIES: AND OTHER LIES HE’LL TELL TO GET YOU INTO BED (Summersdale, 2008)
• DO WORMS HAVE WILLIES? (co-author, Summersdale, 2008)
• THE UNOFFICIAL FACEBOOKER’S SOCIAL SURVIVAL GUIDE (co-author, Summersdale, 2008)
• DOES ANYTHING EAT SHIT? (Summersdale, 2008)
• LEGO: BUILDING A HISTORY (Remember When, pub. TBC)

PETER HARRODINE is an up and coming novelist. He is married with 2 children (and a succession of cats). Pete grew up in Birmingham, where he spent a couple of years travelling around Australia and for the last decade has lived in rural Scotland, in the lodge house of an old country estate outside Edinburgh.

Pete has worked on and off for many years as an I.T. technical author and writer, worked as an extra in both T.V. and film (his most acclaimed role to date was as 'main corpse' in an episode of Taggart) but writing fiction is what makes him happiest.

He is currently putting the final touches to his first novel KISSING TRISHA SIX TIMES.

NICOLA HILL is the author of THE PINK GUIDE TO GAY ADOPTION (BAFF May 2009). She is a co-founder of gay-friendly-wedding-venues.com, an award winning website that helps gay men and lesbians plan their big day.

A former Guardian journalist and graduate of the London School of Economics, Nicola has worked for a number of charities in fundraising and publications departments and runs a freelance editorial service. She lives with her partner, Laura McCaffrey in north London.

Her website is www.everythingeditorial.co.uk

Books:

• A VERY PINK WEDDING: A GAY GUIDE TO PLANNING YOUR PERFECT DAY (HarperCollins, 2007).
• THE PINK GUIDE TO GAY ADOPTION (BAFF, pub. May 2009)

STEVE HILL is a technology journalist, author and lecturer. Steve has worked as a journalist for over ten years before moving into academia. He held senior editorial positions at EMAP and Paragon Publishing, before being appointed as senior lecturer at Southampton Solent University. He now lectures in electronic publishing on the journalism degree at Solent University. His research interests include: convergence journalism and modern magazine production methods. He continues to write on a freelance basis. He has also written for the Sunday Express, The Independent, News Statesman and New Media Age. Steve holds an undergraduate degree from UWE Bristol, a postgraduate journalism diploma from Highbury College, Portsmouth and is studying for an Mprof in Media Practice.

Books:

• 201 ESSENTIAL INTERNET TIPS (Paragon Publishing, 1999)
• EBAY.CO.UK FOR DUMMIES (with Collier & Hoskyn, Wiley, 2007)
• EBAY BUSINESS ALL-IN-ONE (Wiley, 2009)

ISABEL HOOD'S cosmopolitan childhood guaranteed a lifelong love of food and a deep interest in the cuisines of the world. She was brought up in Mexico and steeped in its intensely flavoured, palate-tingling aromatic cooking from a very early age - her strongest childhood memories revolve around a kitchen heady with the pungent smell of chilli, onion and coriander; of tasty tortas stuffed with chicken, refried beans and guacamole in her school snackbox; of dishes of steaming, savoury enchiladas or tacos for lunch - although it could just as easily be shepherd's pie, and Sunday was always celebrated with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

She ran her London catering business, Chef to the Connoisseur, for many years and, after a long stint in the travel industry, working extensively in the Mediterranean region, she is now a freelance private chef and a food writer. She loves to immerse herself in the cuisines of the world and delve into their origins and traditional or indigenous ingredients, thereby acquiring extensive knowledge of food and cooking and recipes from the four corners of the earth – she cannot think of a more rewarding, fulfilling and enriching way to live her life!

Her first cookery book, Just The Two of Us – Entertaining Each Other, was published in 2006 and is a collection of recipes developed to feed her own household, which consists of just her husband, known as the Saturday Night Porker, and herself. Chilli and Chocolate – Stars of the Mexican Cocina followed in 2008 and is a celebration of the glorious food of her childhood.

Isabel is currently writing her vegan cookery book for Need2Know.

Books:

• JUST THE TWO OF US - ENTERTAINING EACH OTHER (Foulsham, 2006)
• CHILLI AND CHOCOLATE - STARS OF THE MEXICAN COCINA (2008)
•  VEGAN COOKBOOK - THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE (Need2Know, 1 May 2011) (preorder)

ROBERT KELSEY is an expert in failure. Fear of failure. His new book WHAT IS STOPPING YOU? explores the fears that prevent many people from reaching their potential, as well as charts a course that can help people achieve their goals. WHAT IS STOPPING YOU? is Robert's second book. His first (THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS) was published in 2000 by Transworld and hilariously recounted his ill-fated move to New York as an investment banker in the 1990s. Robert is also an entrepreneur. He gave up banking in 2000 to start an incubator for start-up companies, which was sold in 2003. And since 2002 he has been the founder and CEO of an innovative financial public relations company based in the City of London with clients including banks, private equity funds and ratings agencies. This combines his two core experiences of financial journalism (exercised prior to becoming a banker) and banking (although he confesses to being a "crap banker", a failure he analyses for the purposes of his new book). He lives in London with his wife Lucy and boys George and Eddie.

Books:

• THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (Bantam, 2000)
• WHAT IS STOPPING YOU? (Capstone/Wiley, 2011)

JAMES LARK’S writing ranges from prose to plays, song lyrics, sketches, monologues and scripts for radio and film; he co-wrote Fringe, a complete guide to the Edinburgh Fringe (Friday Books, 2006), and has written and performed several character monologues for BBC Radio, one of which won a Jerusalem Radio Award in 2004. They also commissioned him to write The "Diversity Explored" Seminar, which was broadcast in September 2005. Since learning many things about writing comedy in the Cambridge Footlights Dramatic Club he has written for Ealing Live!, Focus Theatre Company, NewsRevue and The Friday Thing, as well as co-founding improvisation company The Uncertainty Division, which has involved surprisingly little writing.  

His writing often dovetails neatly with his love of theatre and music, most recently in his sell-out show Tony Blair – the Musical at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe, which won him a commendation in the first MTM:UK Edinburgh Musical Awards for best book. He wrote and starred in his 2006 one-man musical comedy The Rise and Fall of Deon Vonniget, a culmination of years of traipsing around venues all over the country singing comic songs about cheese. He has also written several short films plus a sitcom pilot (appropriately entitled "The Sitcom") and is currently working on a couple of feature-length screenplays. Further information about his work can be found at www.jameslark.co.uk

SALLY LEWIS is a published author, editor and freelance health and medical writer with strong press and public relations contacts in national and regional media. Sally has experience in broadcasting and teaching.

BOOKS:

• BACK IN SHAPE A HEALTH AND DIET PROGRAMME FOR POSTNATAL MOTHERS (Hamlyn, August 2000).
• THE MENOPAUSE – FOOD SOLUTIONS (Hamlyn, March 2001).
• PREGNANCY WEEK – BY – WEEK (Hamlyn, September 2005).
• THE WAIST LINE PLAN (Hamlyn, 2007).
• STOP SMOKING FOR DUMMIES (Wiley, March 2008)
• SHAPE UP SIZE DOWN (Hamlyn, April 2009)
• COPING SUCCESSFULLY WITH ACNE (Sheldon Press, June 2009)
• 50 THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY TO MANAGE FERTILITY (Summersdale Publishers, pub. Feb 2011)

FIONA MCDONALD is a classically trained artist whose passion for toys manifests itself in the compulsive making of dolls and puppets. Her life size cloth and mixed media figures have received international acclaim and are eagerly sought after by collectors (thank goodness because they take up a lot of room at home).  

Fiona took time off from making things to have a passionate affair with the works of Dante Alighieri, the medieval Italian poet. This much needed intellectual stimulus has resulted in a frantic writing spree attempting to bring her two great loves together: literature and visual art.  Incongruous as it may seem, BABES IN THE WOOL is one of several offspring to come from this union.  

When Fiona is not writing or making things she teaches a special class of super naughty children of which she claims to be the naughtiest of all.

www.fionamcdonald.com.au

BOOKS:

• BABES IN THE WOOL (Search Press, 1 May 2010) 
• KNITTED ALIENS (Search Press 3 June 2010)
• KNITTED FAIRIES (Search Press, pub. May 2011)
• KNITTED VAMPIRES (Search Press, pub. TBC)
• A HISTORY OF TEXTILES Remember When (Pen and Sword, Pub. July 2011)
• BRITAIN IN THE 1920s Remember When (Pen and Sword, Pub. TBC)

ILLUSTRATIONS:

• THE LITTLE BOOK OF GENIUS with Dr Keith Souter (text) (History Press, pub 2011)

ADELE NOZEDAR has packed quite a lot into her life so far. She’s been a musician in a cult band, then she owned an indie record label and ran a Major; had a successful PR company; is trained in massage and colour therapy, and is currently the owner of a VERY remote residential recording studio in Wales (one of the few places left in the world where Sat Nav can’t give the directions, hoorah!). She is also a photographer and latterly an author. THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF BIRDS was published via HarperCollins in 2006, and May 2008 saw the publication of THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SECRET SIGNS AND SYMBOLS. She’s currently working on several projects, including an astounding Tarot Set (illustrated by renowned fine artist Linda Sutton) based on the myths, folklore and legends surrounding birds.

Current passions:
MUSIC… ‘Charmed and Strange’ by Jo’av.  
BOOK…any fat dictionary from the late 19th Century.  
SCENT…wet mud.  
GEMSTONE…Tourmaline.  
FOOD…mango with a squeeze of lime juice. And chocolate. Of course.

Books:

• THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF BIRDS (HarperCollins, 2006)
• THE ELEMENT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SECRET SIGNS AND SYMBOLS (HarperCollins, 2008)
• THE MAGIC OF ANGELS: HOW TO RECOGNISE AND HARNESS YOUR OWN ANGELIC POWERS (John Blake, early 2010).
• POCKET BOOK OF HEDGEROWS (Square Peg, Random House,  pub. 2011).
• FAMOUS FAIRIES (Remember When, Pen & Sword Books, pub. October 2011).
• THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF BIRD TAROT (Schiffer Publishing, pub. 2011)
• JEWELS AND JEWELLERY (Remember When, Pen & Sword, pub. TBC)
• THE POCKET GUIDE TO OLD-FASHIONED CARD GAMES (Remember When, Pen & Sword, pub TBC)
• THE POCKET GUIDE TO GUITARS with Adam Fuest, Remember When (Pen & Sword, pub TBC).
   

IVAN POPE started his writing life as a fifteen year old punk fanzine editor in the seventies. As an art student alongside Damien Hirst at Goldsmiths in the eighties, he discovered the internet. In the early nineties he founded the world’s first consumer internet magazine and went on to invent the Cybercafé and to chronicle the development of the internet industry.In 2000 he sold his domain name business for tens of millions of pounds before losing it all in the .com bubble. Since then he has been bringing up his two children in Brightoncisco, the cyber centre of the world, and regularly switching between work as an artist and as a digital entrepreneur. He started the Widgety Goodness conference in 2006 and has been blogging regularly as an artist since 2004.

RAJASHREE is a bestselling Indian author and award-winning film-maker. She has been a film buff since she was a kid - she stood in a line for five hours to get tickets for the cult Hindi film Sholay when it was re-released. She has been working in Bombay after studying direction at the Film and Television Institute of India, Poona. A film she wrote and directed, The Rebel, was screened at many film festivals, and won the National Award and the Golden Ten Award. Her critically acclaimed first book, Trust Me, is a lighthearted romantic comedy set in the Bombay film industry. According to figures given by The Times of India and The Sunday Telegraph, Trust Me is the biggest-selling Indian chick lit novel. Her website is www.rajashree.in.

Books:

• TRUST ME (Rupa) (World, excluding Indian subcontinent rights are available)

JOHN ROBB was born in Blackpool and is an author, musician, TV and radio presenter, journalist, record label boss and producer. Fired into action by punk rock in 1977 Robb formed the critically acclaimed band the Membranes and edited his own fanzine, which was one of the best selling UK zines of the eighties. He started writing for the now defunct Sounds music paper in 1986 writing the first pieces on Nirvana, the Madchester scene and covering music all over the world whilst coining the term 'Britpop' in 1988.

After Sounds stopped in 1992 Robb went on to become a well known face on music documentaries on TV and radio as a pundit and presenter and co-produced eaten part history of punk rock TV series. He also fronted a new band, Goldblade, who have released several albums and continue to tour the world. 

He has written several books including the best selling biog of the Stone Roses, THE STONE ROSES AND THE RESURRECTION OF BRITISH POP, the definitive guide to nineties pop culture, THE NINETIES - WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT? and the critically acclaimed and best selling PUNK ROCK - AN ORAL HISTORY. Last year he released two books, THE NORTH WILL RISE AGAIN, an oral history of the Manchester music scene, and DEATH TO TRAD ROCK, an account of the eighties UK noise underground scene that Robb was involved in with the Membranes. Robb continues to be a well respected journalist and has just launched a new label in Manchester, Modern English, and will be making his acting debut on TV in 2010.

Books:

• THE STONE ROSES AND THE RESURRECTION OF BRITISH POP (Ebury Press, 1997)
• THE NINETIES - WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT? (Ebury Press, 1999)
• PUNK ROCK - AN ORAL HISTORY (Ebury Press, 2006)
• THE NORTH WILL RISE AGAIN (Aurum Press, 2009)
• DEATH TO TRAD ROCK (Cherry Red Books, September 2009)

A. J. ROUND was born in Belfast but grew up in Glasgow. She read English at Oxford University and lectured at King’s College, London for nine years. She has won prizes for poetry and short stories, including the 2002 Sid Chaplin Short Story Competition, and studied screenwriting at the London College of Printing.

She is currently working on her second novel, and plans for future works include a dark story of betrayal set in New Zealand, a political thriller based in Northern Ireland in the early ‘70s, and a novel about love, faith and obsession amid the chaos of contemporary London.

She lives with her partner, who is also a writer, and their two Russian Blue cats. When not writing she enjoys music, reading, road running and snowboarding.

NICOLA SOMERSCALES spent her childhood writing stories about far away worlds, and now, after 12 years working in various administrative positions, has decided to enjoy a second childhood.

She grew up in the West Midlands, and after pursuing her artistic bent at university and gaining a BA (Hons) in Visual Communication, she relocated to the North Lincolnshire area with her fiancé, where they married and started a family together. After completing a course in proofreading and copy editing, Nicola realised her real passion still lay with the written word, and, once again, she immersed herself in imaginary worlds, writing a number of science fiction novels and short stories in her spare time. She also joined the on-line writing community 'Universal Writers Group' in October 2006, and was soon granted Assistant Manager status in recognition of her work helping others edit their writing.

Having now completed one of her novels, PRECIOUS COMMODITIES, to a standard she feels satisfied with, Nicola is ready to launch her writing career. In addition, she is also in the final editing stage of a short story called THE AUCTIONEER'S PRIZE, which should soon be added to the publishing schedule of the e-zine 'Bewildering Stories'.

KEITH SOUTER is a part time doctor, medical writer and novelist. He is married with three grown-up children and lives within arrow-shot of Sandal Castle, the scene of two of his historical crime novels. He has published nine medical books, several of which been translated into six languages, and ten novels in three genres. He is a member of the Crime Writers Association, the Society of Authors and International Thriller Writers. He also enjoys the challenge of micro-fiction and has won a couple of short fiction prizes, including the 2006 Fish One-Page Historical Prize. Apart from writing, he enjoys good books, fine wine, cinema and walking. You can find our more about Keith at www.keithsouter.co.uk. 

Books (medical):

• HOMOEOPATHY FOR THE THIRD AGE (C.W.Daniel, 1993)
• HOMOEOPATHY: HEART & SOUL (C.W.Daniel, 1993)
• CURE CRAFT (C.W.Daniel, 1995)
• NOT JUST A ROOM WITH A BATH (C.W.Daniel, 1995)
• GET WELL SOON (C.W.Daniel, 1996)
• THE ART OF HOMOEOPATHY (B. Jain, 1996)
• PSIONIC MEDICINE (C.W.Daniel, 2001)
• PRESCRIBING METHODS (B. Jain, 2005)
• DOCTORS’ LATIN (Robert Hale, 2006)
• SELF-HELP FOR RHEUMATISM AND ARTHRITIS (Sheldon Press, July 2010)
• 50 THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY TO MANAGE BACK PAIN (Summersdale Publishers, pub. Feb 2011)

Books (fiction):

• (Westerns, writing as Clay More)
  • RAW DEAL AT PASCO SPRINGS (Robert Hale, 2004)
  • NEMESIS FOR THE JUDGE (Robert Hale, 2004)
  • DOUBLE-DEALING AT DIRTVILLE (Robert Hale, 2005)
  • A ROPE FOR SCUDDER (Robert Hale, 2006)
  • STAMPEDE AT RATTLESNAKE PASS (Robert Hale, 2007)
• (Crime, writing as Keith Moray)
  • THE GATHERING MURDERS (Robert Hale, 2006)
  • DEATHLY WIND (Robert Hale, 2007)
  • MURDER SOLSTICE (Robert Hale, 2008)
  • FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (Robert Hale, 2010).
• (Historical Crime, writing as Keith Souter)
  • THE PARDONER’S CRIME (Robert Hale, 2008)
  • THE FOOL’S FOLLY (Robert Hale, 2009)

Books (non fiction):

• SCHOOLBOY SCIENCE REMEMBERED (Remember When, Pen & Sword, Pub. July 2011)
• THE LITTLE BOOK OF GENIUS (History Press, Pub. October 2011)
• THE POCKET GUIDE TO DICE AND DICE GAMES (Remember When, Pen & Sword, Pub. TBC)

FEARGUS O’SULLIVAN is a London-born writer and journalist. His first book, a collection of recipes from films called PULP KITCHEN, was published by Boxtree in October 2007. He writes weekly as restaurant critic for The London Paper and is a regular contributor to several other newspapers and magazines, having written major pieces for The Guardian, as well as a weekly column on food and film for The Times. Beyond his writing experience, he also worked as a lecturer in film history, an events curator for the National Film Theatre, a cultural adviser for a warlord in the Caucasus, a walking tour guide and a book dealer. He lives in London and Berlin.

Books:

• PULP KITCHEN: RECIPES FOR THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE HUNGRY (Boxtree, October 2007)

DON TAYLOR was born in Lawrence's Erewash Valley, is largely self-educated, and has been writing for a long time.  He has had jobs in various fields and hopes his chequered experiences accord him a vision beyond the academic.  He has written reviews, co-written educational books, published adult short stories, children's books with Hamish Hamilton, and the novel DIRTY LAUNDRY with Serpent's Tail.  He has written a number of screenplays and is currently working on a number of novels.  He is told he has a distinctive voice and hopes this is true.  His storylines lean towards the quirky.  He occasionally paints and regards salmon fishing as his only exercise.  He lives in obscurity in County Durham and is content to remain reclusive. 

BOOKS:

• DIRTY LAUNDRY (Serpent’s Tail) 

SALLY TISSINGTON is a writer and artist who has just completed her first novel, CAROUSEL (working title), which will be published by G-Press in June 2011. This haunting, unforgettable book is about how a monstrous carousel in a back garden dominated the lives of three generations of women and the men they loved, forcing them to face their weaknesses and relationship with each other. 

Also an artist, Sally’s exhibitions were set around huge advertising billboards with magical fairy tales written on them. She lives in Warwickshire with her husband and two sons. CAROUSEL is her first novel.

BOOKS:

• CAROUSEL (G-Press, Pub. June 2011) 

MARK TORRENDER was born in Sacramento, California in 1963 and grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts. He began writing novels at age 16, concentrating on the science fiction genre. After working on two horror film scripts with Hollywood's Little Slices of Death productions, Mark devoted his time to short stories. Many of these have been published online and in anthologies.

Returning to adult fiction, Mark has recently completed 'Blood Family', a mystery adventure novel that gives the vampire legend a new twist. Mark is currently living just outside of London.

www.torrender.co.uk / www.bloodfamily.co.uk

STEPHEN WADE writes non-fiction across a broad spectrum, but specialises in crime history. His career has been lecturing in higher and further education, followed by six years as a writer working in prisons. His most recent books have been Cold Case Investigators (Pen and Sword) and Victoria's Spymasters (History Press). Stephen writes extensively on genealogy for the history magazines and has just completed his second family history handbook.

Books (Literature):

• CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD (Macmillan, 1991)
• READING THE APPLAUSE: PERFORMANCE POETRY (NAWE, 1999)
• GLADSONGS AND GATHERINGS (Liverpool University Press, 2001)
• IN MY OWN SHIRE (Greenwood, 2001)
• THE IMAGINATION IN TRANSIT: PHILIP ROTH (Continuum, 2001)
• JEWISH AMERICAN LITERATURE SINCE 1945 (Edinburgh University Press, 1999)

Books (CRIME / MILITARY / HISTORY):

• UNSOLVED YORKSHIRE MURDERS (Wharncliffe, 2001)
• THE TORSO IN THE TANK  (Black and White, 2004)
• PLAIN CLOTHES AND SLEUTHS: A HISTORY OF DETECTIVES IN ENGLAND (Tempus, 2007)
• SPIES IN THE EMPIRE (Anthem, 2007)
• HOUSE OF CARE: A HISTORY OF NORTHALLERTON PRISON (Bar None Books, 2008)
• FOUL DEEDS AND SUSPICIOUS DEATHS IN DUBLIN (Wharnecliffe, 2008)
• HANGED AT YORK (History Press, 2008)
• SQUARE MILE BOBBIES (Sutton)
• HEROES, VILLAINS AND VICTIMS OF BRADFORD (Breedon)
• QUEEN VICTORIA'S SPYMASTERS (Tempus)
• TRACING POLICE ANCESTORS (Pen & Sword)
• TRACING YOUR CRIMINAL ANCESTORS (Pen & Sword, 2009)
• COLD CASE INVESTIGATORS (Pen & Sword, 2009)
• BRITAIN'S MOST NOTORIOUS HANGMEN (Pen & Sword, 2009)
• HANGED AT LINCOLN (History Press, 2009)
• AN ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF CRIMINAL YORKSHIRE (Amberley, 2009)
• ESCAPES FROM THE NOOSE (Amberley, 2009)
• RETALE VALUES (HMP Norton Hall, Anthology, 2009)
• THE DANCE OF LIFE: A BIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS ROWLANDSON (Amberley, 2010)
• KICKED INTO TOUCH (Amberley, 2010)
• AIR RAID SHELTERS (Remember When, Pen & Sword, Pub. April 2011)

Books (PARANORMAL):

• HAUNTINGS IN YORKSHIRE (Halsgrove, 2008)
• HAUNTINGS IN LINCOLNSHIRE (Halsgrove, 2008)
• HAUNTINGS IN DUBLIN (Halsgrove, 2009)

LAURA WALSH is a leading speaker to groups of all ages across the country. She had a twenty year addiction to prescription painkillers and alcohol. Her addiction began when her baby daughter tragically died of cot death. Laura turned to painkillers for a way of numbing the pain, however, this addiction destroyed her life, family and relationships. At the depth of her despair all of Laura's family had walked away and she was about to become homeless.

Laura's story has given hope to others suffering in similar situations as well as those who may not be struggling themselves, but who are watching the battle of a loved one's substance abuse. Laura is a true testament to the idea that you can turn your life around - no matter what you're going through, you simply need to take it one day at a time.

Laura is now the director of three companies with a turnover of over half a million pounds per year and author of the forthcoming book ONE DAY AT A TIME. She has appeared on This Morning, in Closer Magazine and been heard in many radio interviews. Laura divides her time between her busy work schedule and spending time with her family, which now includes three beautiful granddaughters.

Laura is a firm believer of The Law of Attraction, which emphasises focusing on the things you want in life in order to achieve them.

Laura's website

BOOKS:

• ONE DAY AT A TIME: ONE WOMAN'S JOURNEY FROM ADDICT TO MILLIONAIRE (Mainstream, Pub. 2011) 

DEE WEAVER is Northumbrian but now living in Yorkshire, which is about as far south as she wants to be. About twenty years ago, after an eclectic career path, she settled in an ethical wholefood distribution company which is among the most successful workers’ co-operatives in the UK.

Her current passions (apart from reading and writing, obviously) are ghosts, history, rock music, Formula 1, and Jacobean embroidery.

In the summer of 2001 she started learning the craft of novel writing. Drawing on her varied experiences in veterinary medicine, interior design, and the occult, the result is THE WINTER HOUSE, a paranormal romance set in North West England.