Ian McEwan was born in 1948 and lives in Gloucestershire, England. He is a critically acclaimed author of short stories and novels, as well as The Daydreamer, a set of stories for children. He has written many screenplays as well as the libretto for an opera. His first published work, a collection of short stories, First Love, Last Rites, 1975, … Read More

After arriving in Britain from the United States in 1977 and training as an actress, Ruby Wax began her career with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She went on to a hugely successful career with BBC television as an interviewer and comedian, and has written, and edited numerous scripts for TV and film including Absolutely Fabulous. Ruby then turned her attention … Read More

Elaine Feeney has published three collections of poetry, Where’s Katie?, The Radio was Gospel, Rise, and a drama piece, WRoNGHEADED, commissioned by Liz Roche Company. She teaches at The National University of Ireland, Galway and St Jarlath’s College. Her work has been widely published and anthologised in Poetry Review, The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, Copper Nickel, Stonecutter Journal and … Read More

Sarah Waters, OBE was born in Wales in 1966. She has written six novels: Tipping the Velvet (1998), which won the Betty Trask Award; Affinity (1999), which won the Somerset Maugham Award, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Mail on Sunday / John Llewellyn Rhys Prize; Fingersmith (2002), which was short-listed for … Read More

Bernardine Evaristo is the Anglo-Nigerian award-winning author of seven books of fiction and verse fiction that explore aspects of the African diaspora: past, present, real, imagined. Her writing also spans short fiction, reviews, essays, drama and writing for BBC radio. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London and Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Literature. As … Read More

Mary Robinson is Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice in Trinity College Dublin and Chair of The Elders.  She served as President of Ireland from 1990-1997 and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002. She is a member of the Club of Madrid and the recipient of numerous honours and awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the President … Read More

BBC Broadcasting Star of the Future and Observer Rising Star (2019) Emma Dabiri is a writer, presenter and academic.  A teaching fellow at SOAS and researcher-in- residence at the South London Gallery, Dabiri’s debut book Don’t Touch My Hair  (2019) has been described as “groundbreaking” (The Guardian), “excellent and far reaching” (The Irish Times) and the work of “one of … Read More

Marian Keyes is the international bestselling author of fourteen novels including Watermelon, Rachel’s Holiday, Sushi for Beginners, This Charming Man, and The Break. With a chatty conversational style and whimsical Irish humour , but themes including alcoholism, depression, addiction, cancer, bereavement, and domestic violence her novels have sold over 40 million copies worldwide and been translated into 36 languages.  Her … Read More

Manchán Magan is a writer and documentary-maker. He has written books on his travels in Africa, India and South America and two novels. He writes regularly for The Irish Times, reports on travel for various radio programmes, and has presented dozens of documentaries on issues of world culture for TG4, RTÉ  & Travel Channel. He lives in an oakwood alongside … Read More

Xiaolu Guo is a Chinese/British novelist and filmmaker. Named as a Granta’s Best of Young British Novelist in 2013, her most recent novel is A Lover’s Discourse. Guo’s other novels include A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, Village of Stone, and I Am China. Her memoir Once Upon A Time In The East won the National Book Critics Circle Award … Read More