Chinelo Bally is a Nigerian-born Brit who appeared on the BBC’s ‘Great British Sewing Bee’, where she wowed judges and fellow contestants with her freehand cutting method. Chinelo is the author of Freehand Fashion and is an expert on BBC2’s upcoming show ‘Saved and Remade’.
Fern Britton is the highly acclaimed author of nine Sunday Times bestselling novels. Her books are cherished for their warmth, wit and wisdom, and have won Fern legions of loyal readers. Fern has been a judge for the Costa Book of the Year Award and is a supporter of the Reading Agency, promoting literacy and reading.
A hugely popular household name through iconic shows such as This Morning and Fern Britton Meets … Fern is a much sought-after presenter and radio host. She has also turned her hand to theatre and toured with Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls.
Fern has twin sons and two daughters and lives in Cornwall in a house full of good food, wine, family, friends and gardening books.
Facebook: /officialfernbritton
Twitter: @Fern_Britton
www.fern-britton.com
Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) was an English-American author and playwright. She is best known for her incredibly popular novels for children, including Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden.
Angela Banner first wrote Ant and Bee as a way to teach her son how to read. The first book in the series was published in 1950. Since then, Angela has written 22 Ant and Bee books. ‘Ant and Bee’, ‘More Ant and Bee’ and ‘More and More Ant and Bee’ are the first three in the series.
Peter V. Brett is the international bestselling author of THE PAINTED MAN and THE DESERT SPEAR. Raised on a steady diet of fantasy novels, comic books and Dungeons & Dragons, Brett has been writing fantasy stories for as long as he can remember. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and art history from the University at Buffalo in 1995, and then spent more than a decade in pharmaceutical publishing before returning to his bliss. He lives in New York City.
Chris Blake lives in the South West, not far from Tintagel Castle, rumoured to be the home of King Arthur. Ever since he was a little boy Chris has always dreamed about travelling through time. He likes watching Doctor Who and looks forward to the day that time-travel is possible as he’d love to visit all the places in his books. In the meantime Chris will keep writing his own adventures. Chris has an old black cat called Merlin.
Pauline Baynes was a British illustrator renowned for her work on C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. J.R.R. Tolkien admired her work so much that she was invited to illustrate first his Farmer Giles of Ham and then The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. Her work spanned 60 years, and in 1968 she won the Kate Greenaway Medal. In 1999 she drew a map of the Little Kingdom for the 50th anniversary edition of Farmer Giles of Ham. Pauline Baynes died in 2008.
Nicola Barker’s work has been translated into numerous languages, and received great critical acclaim and numerous prizes. Her work includes Love Your Enemies, Wide Open (International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award), Clear (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize), Darkmans (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize) and The Yips (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize). She was named as one of Granta’s 20 Best Young British Novelists by in 2005.
Helen Baugh wrote her first book (a book of spells) as a very young child. After taking a degree, travelling and working as a copywriter, she finally came full circle and started writing children’s books again. Helen lives with her partner and their two daughters near the sea in Sussex.
Margaret Wise Brown was a writer of extraordinary talent who died in 1952, when she was only 42. Her numerous picture books, now firmly established as classics, continue to delight thousands of new readers and listeners.
Rachel is a writer of words, drawer of pictures and thinker of happy thoughts. With a cacophony of quirky characters tumbling tirelessly from her imagination, she is one of the South West’s most prolific talents. Creating a growing portfolio of beautifully imagined children’s stories, an award-winning card and gift empire and a smorgasbord of delicate etchings, silk-screens and hand-printed poems, Rachel brings her own unique sunshine to the very young and the slightly older alike.
