The Bestsellers

Meet some of the biggest names in the business, including:

Katie Fforde (more info)
Super-bestselling author of romances including Love Lett-ers, Wedding Season &c.



RJ Ellory (more info)
A hugely bestselling thriller writer - more prizes than you can shake a dagger at.

Adele Geras (more info)
Vastly successful author of YA & children's fiction. No one knows this territory better.

Writers' Workshop

The Festival is run by the Writers' Workshop, Britain's largest editorial consultancy.

No British consultancy works with more clients, works with more professional authors - or achieves more success.

The Festival aims to pass that know-how on to you. If we can, we'll help you meet the agent who's going to take you on.

It's who you know ...

Talent comes first - but the right connections do help! So we've invited key industry players to the Festival - including:

Authonomy
The massively successful HarperCollins site for new writers.

And have fun!

Do you have the nerve for Authonomy Live? Are you up for Literary Death Match? And just how much can you eat and drink in one weekend ...?

The Festival at a Glance

Browse this page for an instant guide to what's on and who's coming.

The Festival is huge, so we can't fit everything on this page. For more info, browse the site using the menu bar at the top of every page, or print out our full Festival listing.

Meet the Publishers

Meet the people who will ultimately determine whether your manuscript is bought or not.

Barry Cunningham (info)
Who's Barry Cunningham? Only the most important children's publisher in the world. He launched JK Rowling (right) & worked closely with Roald Dahl.

More recently, as MD of the Chicken House, he's helped Cornelia Funke sell over 6,000,000 copies while the Tunnels series has been a bestseller in over 40 countries worldwide.


Genevieve Pegg (info)
Genevieve is a senior comm-issioning editor at Orion, which publishes dozens of mega-selling authors inc-luding Ian Rankin, Maeve Binchy, & Michael Palin.

Genevieve is editor to Kate Mosse, Belle de Jour, Jennifer Worth and num-erous other huge selling authors.

Learn from the professionals

You want to be a pro author? Then come and learn the tips & techniques from our bestselling line up.

Learn how to plot
With Harry Bingham. Bestselling novelist & founder of the Writers' Workshop, Britain's largest editorial consultancy.

Find your voice
With Emma Darwin. Bestselling author of The Mathematics of Love and A Secret Alchemy.

Learning to write for money
With Kate Allan. A successful novelist, literary publicist and now also a literary agent.

Learn how to make your characters sing
With Julie Cohen. Author of inventive relationship novels for Little Black Dress and Mills & Boon.

The Super-Agents

Meet the most powerful agents in the business, including:

Darley Anderson (info)
Agent to massive bestselling authors including Lee Child, Martina Cole, Alex Barclay, etc.

Claire Alexander (info)
Past president of the Assoc of Authors' Agents. Orion Literary Agent of the Year. And countless successful clients!

Victoria Hobbs (info)
Represents Conn Iggulden and award-winning writers across all genres.



Simon Trewin (info)
Co-head of Books at United Agents. Represents Richard Curtis, Nicci French, etc.

The Specialists

We've also invited specialist agents & publishers who know the market you are writing for. Among many others ...

John Jarrold (info)
The best known specialist in science-fiction / fantasy / horror in the UK.

Julia Churchill(info)
Julia is an agent devoted 100% to the children's & Young Adult market.

Lynne Patrick (info)
Boss of one of the most exciting crime-only pub-lishers in the UK.

The Book Doctors
Want quick, tough, pro feedback on your work? Then make sure you book a slot with one of our on-site book doctors