Karen Jones is a prose writer from Glasgow with a preference for flash and short fiction. She is addicted to writing competitions and is a perennial long/short-lister. Her story, Small Mercies, was nominated for Best of the Net, the Pushcart Prize and is included in Best Small Fictions 2019. She also one of the editors for the Best British and Irish Flash Fiction for 2019-2020 – and says that ‘Mainly I’ll be looking for stories that make me stop and think and sigh and say, ‘Man, I wish I’d written that!’

Karen Jones, writer

Heather Martin is the author of the highly-acclaimed and best-selling biography of Lee Child called The Reacher Guy. Heather is a writer and academic who was born in Australia, and later moved to England to become a classical guitarist. However, she ended up singing with a Venezuelan folk group and studying languages instead.

Heather Martin, writer & academic

Emma Grae is an author and journalist, originally from Glasgow, who now lives and works in London. Emma has been writing in Scots since she was a student at the University of Strathclyde, and her debut novel, Be guid tae yer Mammy, was published in August 2021 by Unbound Books, the world’s first crowdfunding publisher. Emma has also published fiction and poetry in the UK and Ireland, while her journalism has appeared in numerous publications. You can order Emma's novel, Be guid tae yer Mammy, at <a href="https://unbound.com/books/be-guid-tae-yer-mammy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://unbound.com/books/be-guid-tae-yer-mammy/</a>

Emma Grae, writer

Danny Rhodes is a writer who has been shortlisted for the prestigious BBC National Short Story Award 2021 for his short story, Toadstone. The winner will be announced on October 19th. His debut novel Asboville was published in 2006 and was selected as a Waterstone's Booksellers Paperback of the Year, while it has also been adapted for BBC Films. His next novel, Soldier Boy, was published in 2009, while his third novel, Fan, came out in 2014. It is grounded in Danny's experiences as a Nottingham Forest fan at the Hillsborough Disaster on April 15th, 1989. He has just finished a prequel to that novel, called Kid.

Danny Rhodes, writer

Tom Palmer is a children's author who writes historical and sports fiction books, and to date he has written 53 books for children. His latest novel, Arctic Circle, is rooted in the real life story of the Arctic convoys during the Second World War, and it was longlisted for the Dudley Children's Book 2021 Award. He has also written books on subjects such as the trenches of the First World War, as well as novels set further back in history, while his many sports books include the Roy of the Rovers series of novels, the latest of which, Sudden Death, is published in September 2021.

Tom Palmer, children's author

Vanessa Onwuemezi&nbsp;is a writer and poet based in London. She completed an MA in creative writing at the University of Birkbeck in 2018 while her story, Heart of Things, won the White Review Short Story Prize. Her work has also appeared in Prototype Magazine, Freeze and The Literary Consultancy. Her debut collection of short stories, Dark Neighbourhood, is published in October 2021 by Fitzcarraldo Editions.

Vanessa Onwuemezi, writer

Charles E. McGarry is a crime writer based in Glasgow. He works as an audio editor, a newspaper sub-editor and a crime fiction writer. His first novel, The Road To Lisbon, was not a crime book, but is an excellent piece of football fiction which he co-wrote with Martin Greig. HIs first crime novel, The Killing of Helen Addison, was published in 2017 and is the first in a series of supernatural detective fiction featuring psychic detective, Leo Moran. That's been followed by The Shadow of the Black Earl (2018) and The Mystery of the Strange Piper, which is published in September 2021 by <a href="https://backpagepress.co.uk/press/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BackPage Press.</a>

Charles E. McGarry, writer

Siobhan O'Neill is a history teacher based in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Since graduating from Bangor University in North Wales, where she studied history and film studies, Siobhan has worked in education as a secondary school history teacher and head of history. She created a network for history educators in Basingstoke to be able to share good practice and to learn from different stages of education, while she also runs her own history revision channel on YouTube and Instagram called One History Help.

Siobhan O'Neill, history teacher

Neil Broadfoot is a writer who has written six books to date - three in his Doug McGregor series and three in his Conor Fraser series - with a seventh novel set for publication later this year. Neil's debut, Falling Fast, came out in 2014 and introduced the world to Edinburgh investigative journalist, Doug McGregor. It was shortlisted for both the Dundee International Prize and the prestigious Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year award. He followed that up with The Storm and All The Devils. His first Conor Fraser novel, No Man's Land, came out in 2018 and he followed that up with No Place To Die and, most recently, The Point of No Return. Before writing fiction, Neil worked as a journalist for 15 years at both local and national newspapers, before moving into communications.

Neil Broadfoot, writer

Fiona Erskine is a professional engineer with 40 years of international manufacturing experience. Now based in Teeside, England, she grew up in Edinburgh, studied chemical engineering at Cambridge University and has since travelled the world, working in fertiliser factories, oil terminals and international construction projects. Fiona's first job was in the factory described in her novel, Phosphate Rocks: A Death in 10 Objects, which has recently been published by Sandstone Press to great acclaim. Her first novel, The Chemical Detective, came out in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award, while the second book in the series, The Chemical Reaction, came out in 2020. And there are at least to further books to come in the series, featuring main character, Jaq Silver - The Chemical Cocktail, which is due out in 2022, and a fourth novel in 2023.

Fiona Erskine, writer & professional engineer

People talking about their favourite (and not so favourite) books

A podcast celebrating the wonderful world of books. In every episode, writer and journalist, Paul Cuddihy, takes his guests on the literary journey of their lives. They will choose their favourite book from childhood; their teenage/student (formative) years; a book they'd recommend to anyone; a book they couldn't be paid to read again, and the book they're currently reading.

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Karen Jones, writer

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Emma Grae, writer

Danny Rhodes, writer

Tom Palmer, children's author