Sade Fadipe
Sade is a children’s author, educator and creative producer passionate about storytelling that explores identity, culture and belonging, while empowering young minds. After 12 years in mainstream teaching, Sade took a career break and travelled to northern Nigeria, where she scripted A Fun ABC, later released in the U.S. as A Visit to Grandad — a book praised for celebrating African culture while encouraging children’s literacy. In 2020, the book received recognition in Pennsylvania, including Winner of the Baker’s Dozen, and was nominated for the Caldecott Award.
Sade is also the author of Snowy Joy and co-producer of its stage adaptation, Snowy Joy & The Toysavers. Drawing on her dual heritage and experiences of life in both England and Nigeria, she creates stories that celebrate culture and help children explore identity and belonging. Sade lives in Essex and travels widely, delivering literary fanfares and creative experiences for children through her CALF-Event CIC projects.
James Domestic
James Domestic writes and performs poetry on subjects not many poets would cover. The title of his latest book (published by Earth Island) is self-deprecatingly titled …Is an Acquired Taste, although a number of big names from the poetry and comedy world do seem to have acquired it. Expect pathos, curiosity, and laughs.
Vaseem Khan
Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India, and the Q Mysteries, beginning with Quantum of Menace, the first in a murder mystery series featuring Q from the James Bond franchise. His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House, the first in the Malabar House novels set in 1950s Bombay, won the CWA Historical Dagger. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India. In 2025, his first psychological thriller, The Girl in Cell A, was published, set in small town America.
J.V. Phaure
J.V. Phaure is a British author, best known for writing suspense style novels, thrillers, and contemporary fiction.
Jane’s novels will effortlessly transport you in her unique and beautiful storytelling. Her love of books inspired her to open her book shop aptly named “Chapters,” where the tag line is quite simply;- “Read. Imagine. Repeat.”
She loves nothing more than to sit on the beach and people watch and write. She lives with her family in North Essex.”
Simon Marlowe
I am a darkly comic crime thriller author, and a programmed author for the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival 2024 (Harrogate International Festivals). A consummate wordsmith, I like to skilfully blend social and political issues into compellingly relevant narratives on a par with the best in modern crime fiction today.
Rachel Churcher
Rachel Churcher is an award-winning author, professional editor, and co-founder of Foreword Festival UK. She divides her time between organising book festivals, running workshops, visiting bookshops, editing, and writing. She is always happy to meet writers and readers, and talk about books, dinosaurs, and the merits of various fictional starships.
Charlotte Valentine
I split my time between London and Málaga, Spain where I share my home with 6 rescue cats who are also my writing assistants!
My earliest memories are of always being treated to a bedtime story as a child. That’s where my love of stories and those magical words “Once upon a time” began.
Perhaps it was inevitable I would one day be a storyteller myself. I hope readers enjoy escaping into my stories and into the characters I write. Above all, I hope they entertain.
Chip Colquhoun
Oxford Owl storyteller Chip has enthralled tens of thousands of young people at events worldwide. He performs regularly at Glastonbury Festival, represented Roald Dahl for ITV, holds a Guinness World Record for his storytelling, and has written over 20 books – including his latest, The Bestest Story in the World… Ever!
Pamela Jane
Sharing her love of art
Born in Colchester in June 1965, Pamela enjoyed art at primary school but started to really focus on her creative ability at secondary school and college where she did display and window dressing as part of the Clothing & Distributive Trades Course.
She used her new-found skills to full advantage as a Visual Merchandiser which included creating displays around the store and in the windows. This required making props and painting backdrops to create a ‘story’. It is here that Pamela began her journey as a commercial artist.
After a break to bring up her two children Pamela undertook more training across a range of techniques and mediums. Pamela began creating bespoke handmade cards and with her son’s encouragement her business Pamela Jane Art was born.
Pete Moore
Pete is a Coach and passed the City & Guilds training to teach adults. He also passed the City & Guilds Public speaking course.
He regularly speaks to health care professionals and patient groups here in the UK, Europe and around the world about pain self-management and is a regular presenter at the Austrian and EFIC Pain School (Austria).
Dr Jocasta Webb
Jocasta is a qualified and experienced trauma specialist psychotherapist and has spent much of her 20 year career working with children, young people and adults who have experienced trauma. As well as her psychotherapeutic work and being the mother of three children, she teaches mindfulness and runs wellbeing workshops for all ages. She has worked in schools, residential homes, family centres and private practice, both face to face and online.
Jocasta has created the first in a series of books, “The Four Faces of Love”, to teach principles that will help children to find a different way of being that brings with it the benefits of emotional health, self- and other- awareness and understanding, and promotes the nurturing of kindness in our communities.
Julia Blake
I am what’s called a multi-genre author, which basically means I cannot settle to writing in just one genre but instead want to explore many. To date, I have published in the genres of contemporary fiction, romantic suspense, YA fantasy, folklore fantasy, steampunk, Sci-Fi, coming-of-age, and poetry.
I always feel that as I don’t restrict myself to what genres I read, neither will I restrict myself to what I write. On the plus side, this means that if there’s a genre you don’t like, then I have a variety of others for you to choose from
Eve Stebbing
Eve is a keen walker and wild swimmer who has spent many years working as a critic and a playwright. She has written for the Eastern Daily Press, the Daily Telegraph, Country Life and the Church Times. She is the founder of Spin-Off Theatre, a company set up to archive and perform the oral history of Norfolk (now her home). Her love of the countryside comes from Bradfield, the village where she grew up. Eve is the granddaughter of the founder of the Bradfield Footpath Walking Association, Topsy Agnew.
