Clemency Brown

Clemency studied Psychology at Durham University and then went on to teach at a primary school in Berkshire for nine years, where she experienced first-hand the bottomless and joyous imagination of children. When Clemency isn’t writing or doing countless puzzles with her daughter, she can usually be found reading with a large cup of tea, or doing wholesome crocheting while watching less wholesome true crime documentaries.

Alan Carrigan

Alan Carrigan is a novelist and screenwriter with quadriplegic cerebral palsy who worked as a script editor for Ink and Light Films and D11 Stories. His own work focuses on character-driven, witty, and nuanced stories, most of which feature the types of authentically disabled characters he needed but rarely saw growing up.

Tig Wallace

Tig Wallace is a writer and editor, currently working as Publishing Director at Little, Brown. He previously spent six years at PRH Children’s, where he worked on the Wimpy Kid series, and four years at Hachette Children’s, working with authors such as Leigh Bardugo and Erik J Brown.
Aside from writing, Tig is a keen tennis fan, as both spectator and player, a cat enthusiast, and has never been known to say no to karaoke. He lives in London.

Lucas Maxwell

Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, Lucas Maxwell grew up on Nintendo, comic books and Dungeons and Dragons. He has been working in libraries for over fifteen years and is passionate about providing safe and welcoming library spaces for everyone. In 2017 he was named the UK's School Librarian of the Year and in 2024 he was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to libraries. He is proud to be a neurodivergent writer and grateful to be adding his voice to the world of literature. He currently resides in the UK with his amazing family and Biscuit the chocolate lab.

Helen Price

After studying languages at university, Helen built a career in international HR and change management, writing mainly boring stuff like corporate speeches, handbooks and communications – until fiction lured her in. Originally from the historic city of Norwich, she now lives in a field in West Berkshire. A black belt in karate, she loves chocolate, her dogs, and anything thriller-related – both on and off the page.

Alan Joyce

Alan Joyce grew up and still lives in South Tyneside. However, his mind was and is constantly someplace else. From poetry to screenplays and stories, Alan has always escaped into a world of fiction. He studied at the greatest university on Earth: Sunderland and graduated with a degree in media and culture. In his spare time, apart from writing, he still thinks he can play football – his teammates beg to differ.

Holly Surplice

Holly Surplice lives in the beautiful Outer Hebrides with her three children, Painter and Pencil the dogs, Penny Crayon the cat and a collection of other furry and feathered family. Island life inspires both her written and illustrative work, but many of her stories come from observing the animals around her and remembering her farming childhood. Holly studied illustration at Edinburgh College of Art, with her first picture book acquired by Walker Books during her degree show. Her books are full of heart, with meaningful writing and expressive illustration.

Asli Jensen

Asli is a writer, born and raised in West London. She is proud of her cultural heritage, being of Somali and Danish descent. Her writing is an amalgamation of untold stories and unheard voices, including her own. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck University and previously had her work published in Stylist Magazine.

Marisa Linton

Marisa inhabits two writing worlds. In one she’s a professor of history, a historical consultant for television and the author of several history books on the French Revolution. In her other world she’s writing fantasy for young adults that draws on her love for ancient Celtic Britain and folklore and her belief in magic, ghost stories and the supernatural. Born in Barnes, in south-west London, into an Italian/English family, she has lived for many years in Brighton where she has raised her three children.

Bruna De Luca

Bruna De Luca grew up in a very Italian household in the Scottish Borders and reluctantly describes herself as a deep-fried pizza. This dual heritage is woven into every aspect of her life – from her studies at the University of Edinburgh, where she completed a dissertation on Italian fairy tales, to the years she spent in Italy teaching students to speak English with a Scottish twang. Bruna’s experiences as the child of immigrants deeply shape her writing.

Truly Johnston

Truly Johnston was born in London and is mixed heritage, Sri Lankan and English. Having spent her childhood singing to herself and making up stories, she continues to spend her adult life doing the same. Truly has a degree in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and has worked in the charity and public sectors. Truly lives in South East London with her husband, young daughter and three lovely chickens.

Gary Panton

Gary is an author, editor and doodler based in Perth in Scotland. As well as his fantastical children's series The Notwitches, Gary's work has included art books, joke books, puzzle books and annuals. He has also written books for hit children's brands including The Beano, Hey Duggee and Bluey.

Megan Freeman

A former teacher, Megan Freeman loves all things magic and mythology. She juggles writing with her day job, working for a children’s mental health charity, promoting well-being through surf therapy. Megan hails from the far west of Cornwall, and when she’s not working or writing, loves tramping around the moorland and swimming or surfing in the sea.

Anna February

Being a STEM editor by day and a fantasy author by night means that Anna spends the vast majority of her time trying to arrange the right words in the right order, but her other interests include drawing, board games and large amounts of chocolate. She also writes books for older readers under the name A. F. E. Smith.

Sarah Harrison

Sarah Harrison was born and raised in Lancashire where she lives with her husband and two sons. She likes to hide in her writing shed known as the Witch Hut where she writes creepy and silly middle-grade stories away from four distracting pets – having learned that animals and open laptops should never be left alone together. She enjoys listening to loud rock music, repeatedly watching the extended cuts of The Lord of the Rings, never refuses tea or chocolate, and loves having adventures in her little red camper van.

Monique Turner

Monique was born and raised in the cold north of England on a diet of strong brews and thick gravy. Whilst growing up, she struggled to find her place in the world, so she vowed to create stories where those who don’t fit in can finally feel like they belong. When T.M. Turner isn’t writing, she can be found roaming the southern coast.

Madeline Claire Franklin

Madeline Claire Franklin is a graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is queer, Jewish, and invisibly disabled, and lives in Western New York with her partner, two dogs, three cats, and two Roombas, in a little yellow house called Cluckleberry Farms.

Alice Nuttall

When Alice Nuttall was little, she was given a giant stack of yellowing scrap paper from the factory where her grandfather worked. She started writing stories on it, and didn’t stop even when it eventually ran out. Today, she writes children’s stories and webcomics, as well as pet-sitting and working in her local library. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two cats, the real-life Jack and Ollie.

Jessica Popplewell

Jess Popplewell was raised in the historic city of York before bravely crossing the Pennines to study English and Creative Writing in the historic city of Lancaster. She now lives in South London with her partner. Having experience of insecure housing, Jess is passionate about preventing homelessness for young people. She was a host for the York-based charity SASH for three years, offering her spare bedroom to young people in need of emergency accommodation.

Philip Kavvadias

Philip grew up in Athens, fell in love in Dublin and built a home in Windsor. He writes constantly: stories, screenplays, sketches, poems. As an engineer, he works in sustainability for one of the biggest brands in the world, and, as a Scout leader, he takes kids on real-life adventures. But most of all, Philip loves dinner with his family and snuggling for a movie.