AUTHORS: N-Z
Andie Newton
Andie Newton is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. Her titles include The Secret Pianist, A Child for the Reich, The Girls from the Beach, The Girl from Vichy and The Girl I Left Behind. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her family. When she’s not writing gritty war stories about women, you can usually find her trail running in the desert and stopping to pet every Yellow Lab or Golden Retriever that crosses her path. Andie is actively involved with the reading and writing community on social media. You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram or check out her author page on Facebook for all the latest updates.
Ruth O'Leary
Ruth lives beside the sea in Dublin, Ireland with her family and golden retriever Rusky. Her short stories have been published in national magazines and in online publications. Her debut novel The Weekend Break was published by Poolbeg and entered the Irish Times bestsellers chart at No.7.
After over twenty years in the travel business, Ruth now works freelance as a movie extra playing many different parts from nun to Viking! She also has a monthly blog called Rambling Ruth, combining her two passions, travel and writing.
Stella Oni
Stella Oni is a British-Nigerian writer and author of crime fiction debut, Deadly Sacrifice, creating the first black female police detective in UK fiction. Deadly Sacrifice is a compelling police procedural that delves into Nigerian and British cultures, exploring themes of identity and tradition. It was shortlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize and selected as an Audible Crime and Fiction Pick. Stella has also contributed short stories to anthologies, including Midnight Hour, which was nominated for an Anthony Award.
Stella leads workshops, speaks at events, and shares insights on crime writing, character development, and building suspenseful narratives. She also teaches creative writing and regularly lectures on short fiction, literary fiction, and crime.
Stella is a lifelong foodie and dreams of eating her way around the world!
Tony O'Reilly
Tony O’Reilly runs a small graphic design company. He lives and works in the seaside town of Dalkey, Co. Dublin. His hobbies include swimming, eating and people watching, which makes him a bit of a goldfish if you think about it.
In 2022 he came 2nd overall in the Yeovil Short Story awards. He was shortlisted for the William Trevor Short Story Competition and the George Bermingham short story competition. One of his first short stories won the Emerging Writer competition in The Sunday Tribune Hennessy Literary Awards. His first book, Sentinel, came first in the Discovered Authors competition for the Republic of Ireland and 2nd overall in the UK and Ireland.
His latest novel, Death in the Liberties, was published by Poolbeg.
Bella Osborne
Bella Osborne’s stories are about friendship, love and coping with what life throws at you. In 2022, her rom com The Promise of Summer won the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Jane-Wenham Jones Award for Romantic Comedy Novel of the Year.
Bella lives in The Midlands, UK with her husband, daughter and a cat who thinks she’s a dog. When not writing Bella is usually eating custard creams and planning holidays.
Patrick Ost
Born and raised in Somerset, Patrick read English Literature at Newcastle University and now lives and works as an English teacher in Wimbledon – a fitting location since, when he’s not writing, he can generally be found trying to convince anyone and everyone to play tennis against him. Patrick loves sport, putting quizzes together, going to the theatre as much as possible, and all things Shakespeare; he is about to complete an MA at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford Upon Avon.
He is currently working on his debut historical fiction novel, writing in as many beautiful old pubs as he can.
Evan Ostryzniuk
Evan Ostryzniuk is the author of a historical fiction series, featuring wannabe knight Geoffrey Hotspur, published by Endeavour Media.
Evan grew up in Canada and attended Cambridge University, where he earned a PhD in History. He currently works for the BBC. Evan is working on a new series of historical detective novels set during the early years of the Spanish Inquisition, following special papal investigator Serafino Tucci di Salerno.
June O'Sullivan
June O’Sullivan lives on an island in Co. Kerry, Ireland. She writes historical fiction, flash fiction and short stories. Her writing has appeared in the Leicester Writes Short Story Anthology 2022, The Ogham Stone Journal, The York Literary Review, Seaside Gothic, The Storms Journal, The Waxed Lemon, Sonder and online as part of the National Flash Flood Day. She is a student of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick. Her debut novel The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife was published in 2025.
Kanitha P.
Kanitha P., also known as Kay, is a romance author of heartfelt and epic love stories. She writes about strong heroines with sass, and spends her free time reading through an endless TBR. When she isn’t working on her novels, you can find her obsessing over Formula 1, drinking three cups of coffee a day, and taking outdoor walks whilst listening to music.
Samantha Pennington
Originally from Northamptonshire, Samantha now lives in North Essex with her family. An aspiring author from a young age, she only recently stopped procrastinating and is writing in earnest her debut novel, a romcom. When not reading or writing, she can be found making excuses not to run, sipping gin with the girls and planning city breaks.
Jake Pierce
Jake Pierce is a writer currently residing in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jake graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hampden-Sydney College with a degree in Economics. He began his writing journey in 2012, penning several short stories. His first short story, The Woman in the Yellow Dress, was published in his alma mater’s magazine, The Garnet. Writing in the mornings, evenings, and on weekends, Jake has continued to produce short stories and novels while advancing a career in Real Estate and Finance. Jake aspires to destigmatize the struggles around emotional well-being and is an advocate of mental health awareness.
James Richards
James Richards is a winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2022 competition. He enjoyed a stint as an actor and librettist, writing comic opera Gutter Press which has been staged in several London venues. With an MA in Professional Writing from London Metropolitan University, he now works as a freelance journalist.
Nothing makes him happier than wandering around windswept places and swimming in the sea, except perhaps freshly ground coffee and Choco Leibniz biscuits.
Fulton Ross
Fulton Ross is a writer and journalist from the Scottish Highlands. A former shinty player and graduate in Scottish literature and history from Glasgow University, he worked as a sub-editor and occasional columnist on national newspapers for more than decade. Inspired by Gaelic folktales, his debut novel, The Unforgiven Dead, was shortlisted for the Scottish Crime Debut of the Year at Bloody Scotland.
Fulton now lives in a 300-year-old haunted house in Northern Ireland with his wife and three children.
Francesco Sarti
Francesco Sarti is a writer of dark stories with a speculative twist. Originally from Italy, Francesco lived in Brazil and Ireland before moving to the South of England in 2017. Having worked as a professional basketball player, he now works as a Design Engineer for renewable energy systems and he’s always on the lookout for a good literary festival.
Daniel Sellers
Daniel Sellers is the author of the Lola Harris Mysteries (Joffe Books) and the Yorkshire Killings (Allison & Busby). He grew up in Leeds and has lived and worked in Liverpool, Glasgow, Dublin, and Finland. He now lives in Argyll with a wheaten terrier called Rasmus and regularly visits his partner Gordon in Hong Kong.
Daniel loves crime fiction, old and new, particularly the work of Margaret Murphy, Mo Hayder, Ruth Rendell, P D James and Josephine Tey. He is a committed fan of Agatha Christie, collecting first editions and even owning a signed copy of one of her later books.
Daniel’s detective thrillers are pacy and dark, with as much interest in whydunnit as who.
You can follow him on Instagram @danielsellersauthor, on X @DJSellersAuthor, and on Facebook @danielsellersauthor.
Alex Shaw
Alex Shaw is a member of the International Thriller Writers organisation and the Crime Writers Association. His bestselling Aidan Snow SAS thrillers Cold Blood, Cold Black and Cold East are published by HarperCollins UK (HQ Digital) in English and Luzifer Verlag in German. His latest novel, Wolf Six, came out in February 2025, published by Boldwood. Alex has also written numerous short stories and novellas.
Alex and his family are currently expats dividing their time between homes in Ukraine, England and Qatar.
J.L. Simmonds
Jo Simmonds grew up by the seaside but now lives in Bristol. She studied English Literature and worked in marketing and communications for ten years before returning to Bath Spa for her MA in Writing for Young People.
Jo writes joyful LGBTQ+ YA, bad poetry and text messages with too many emojis. Her debut novel, Run Away With Me, will be published by Penguin Random House in June 2025.
Jen Smith
Jen lives in the Midlands with her husband and kids, where she dreams of living by the sea in the south of France. She is an audiobook narrator with an MA in Medieval History and loves castles and King John. When not writing or narrating, Jen can be found planning the next family holiday, being taxi to the kids and giggling through her kickboxing lessons. Jen is currently working on her debut contemporary romance novel.
Lara Slabber
Lara Slabber grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, but now lives on the Philadelphia Main Line with their wife and three naughty cats. When they aren’t busy writing about queer teenagers falling in love and going on fantastical adventures, Lara can be found sewing pink dresses, crocheting dinosaurs, or rebinding their favorite books.
Lara graduated from Rosemont College with an MFA in Creative Writing and their short fiction has been published in All Worlds Wayfarer and Wyldblood Press.
Victoria Stewart
Victoria has had fiction long-listed for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, the Bridport Novel Prize and the Mslexia Novel Competition. Her short story Church Going won second prize in the Bedford Short Story Competition 2023, and Miss Mansfield placed third in the Chipping Norton Literary Festival Short Story Competition 2024.
Victoria was born in Crosby and lived in Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol and Leicester before moving back to Merseyside in 2021. Formerly a lecturer in English Literature, she is now a researcher focusing on human rights issues.
Maggie Sullivan
Manchester-born global bestselling author Maggie Sullivan writes Coronation Street prequels following the early lives of the much-loved Corrie characters, as well as sagas set in Lancashire during the Second World War.
Maggie also writes non fiction, romantic fiction, historical fiction and heartwarming short stories. She loves to travel and is an avid reader, never going without her Kindle. She is a long standing member of Romantic Novelists’ Association. After living abroad for several years, she settled in London where she still lives.
Sally Tarpey
Sally was from Hampshire and lived in Essex with her family. After retiring from teaching, she worked in Cambodia as an education adviser and rekindled her passion for writing. Addicted to travel and books, when not at her laptop or planning the next trip, she enjoyed striding out in the countryside or battling the weeds on her allotment. Sally wrote numerous poems and short stories. She is the author of the Truscott saga series published by Joffe Books.
Stewart Tolley
Stewart brings quirky, unusual and amusing narratives from the past to a twenty-first century audience. He holds a PhD in eighteenth century political history.
Stewart has worked as a tutor at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education and taught at UCL. Recently he has joined Oxford Brookes. He now works to support and encourage students to study at the University from under-represented social and economic groups. He also runs workshops with an experienced journalist to help academics learn how to write for a popular audience and has written for the magazine History Today.
Stewart is a keen quizzer and board gamer. He has a collection of eighteenth century satirical prints which never fail to amuse!
Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang
Rhiannon was born and grew up in Yorkshire, read Oriental Studies (Chinese) at Oxford, and is a non-practising lawyer. Her work focuses on historical and cultural fault lines, and contains strong international themes.
The Last Vicereine was published by Penguin Random House in 2017 and she is the 2018 winner of the Nottingham Writers’ Studio Writer of the Year award.
Alison Watterson
Alison lives in Northern Ireland with Archie, her lovable but stubborn miniature schnauzer. Her obsession with mysteries began as a child with The Famous Five, continued with Nancy Drew and was solidified with the discovery of Agatha Christie. She’s a terrible cook but makes an excellent Victoria sponge and even better cocktails. When not reading or writing, she’s probably out with her camera taking photos of the Irish coastline or watching the latest episode of Silent Witness.
Helen Watts
After more than 25 years working as an editor and publisher, Helen became a published fiction author in 2013 with her debut novel One Day in Oradour (Bloomsbury), a title which won the Extraordinary Award at the Southern Schools Book Awards and was nominated for the 2014 CILIP Carnegie Medal. Her second novel, No Stone Unturned (Bloomsbury), was shortlisted for the Warwickshire Junior Book Awards, the Historical Association’s Young Quills Award and the Alcester Schools Book Awards. Since then Helen has also co-written two short story collections: The Ghost of the Trenches (Bloomsbury) and the adult hardback First World War Folk Tales (History Press) with the Storytelling Laureate, Taffy Thomas MBE. Helen splits her time between Worcestershire and West Wales, where she loves dog-walking on the beach with her family.
Kerry Watts
Kerry Watts is the author of crime thrillers which often have mental health issues at the heart of the story. This comes from her experience of working with people with mental health problems in acute and community settings. When she’s not writing she devours true crime books and TV shows which has given her an unsettling amount of knowledge on serial killers and their lives.
She is the author of the DI Fraser Brodie series published by Bonnier Books, the Detective Hazel Todd series published by Hera Books, and the Detective Jessie Blake series, set in Perthshire and published by Bookouture.
Simon Whaley
Simon Whaley is a writer, author and photographer. He is the bestselling author of One Hundred Ways For A Dog To Train Its Human. Foraging for Murder, a cosy mystery, is out now.
In addition to writing several books, Simon regularly has articles and short stories printed in various publications.
www.simonwhaley.co.uk @simonwhaley
@kezzawattsbooks
Ally Wiegand
Ally Wiegand currently resides in Texas. She loves her family, fall, and writing love stories that make your heart squeeze. Ally has dreamed of being a writer since she was a girl. She is a coffee addict, a classic car lover, and a cat mom to two furballs. Her dream is to write stories that make readers happy, make them sad – but, most importantly, feel something. She is the author of the Chicago Heartbreakers sports romances.
Emma-Claire Wilson
Born in Scotland, Emma travelled the world as the child of military parents. Finally she settled in Southern Spain with her husband, daughters, and rescue dog, Pip. Emma works as a journalist for English language magazines and newspapers in Spain and in 2015 launched The Glass House Online Magazine. When not writing emotional book club fiction, you can find her by the sea dreaming up new stories, or wrapped in a blanket with a book in her hand.
Maggie Womersley
Maggie grew up in the shadow of a haunted castle in Sussex, where her early years were spent building dens, watching films and reading her way through the local library. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies, she worked as an archive film producer in the TV industry, making documentaries about pop culture. Her first YA novel won the 2024 Cheshire Kids Novel Prize and her short fiction has been reviewed in The Guardian and the Daily Mail. She is a SCBWI Undiscovered Voices Finalist for 2024.
Janet Woods
Janet Woods was a popular author of historical women’s fiction. Born and raised in Dorset, she emigrated to Western Australia. Janet was the author of Daughter of Darkness, which won the mainstream section of Romantic Novel of the Year in Australia in 2002.
Janet was a life member of The Society of Women Writers, Western Australia and was nominated for the ‘Alice’, an award in recognition of outstanding achievement. She was published by Robert Hale, Simon & Schuster, and Severn House.
Mark Woolhouse
Mark Woolhouse OBE is a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, a post he has held for over twenty years. Well-known and respected in his field, he has received numerous awards and has been introduced on the Today Programme as “one of Britain’s most senior scientists”. Since January 2020 he has been heavily involved with the UK’s response to COVID-19. He is a member of two high-level government advisory bodies: SPI-M for the UK (a subcommittee of SAGE) and the C19 Advisory Group for the Scottish Government. His scientific memoir, The Year The World Went Mad, was published in February 2022.
Jessica Yale
Jessica grew up in the Midlands and began writing to remind her of home while working in the United States. Her debut novel, He’s a 10, came out in May 2024 with Penguin Michael Joseph, a sports romance set around fictional football club Covenly FC. When not writing, Jessica enjoyed yoga, watching football with her husband and walking her lurchers.