RECOMMENDED AUTHORS
Lois McMaster Bujold was born in 1949, the daughter of an engineering professor at Ohio State University, from whom she picked up her early interest in science fiction. She now lives in Minneapolis, and has two grown children. Her fantasy from HarperCollins includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife tetralogy; her science fiction from Baen Books features the perennially bestselling Vorkosigan Saga. Her work has been translated into over twenty languages. You can read her Blog here! A listing of her awards and nominations may be seen here: Lois McMaster Bujold Awards
Andrew Cartmel was born in London, where he lives today. He grew up in Canada and returned to the UK to complete his education, such as it is (Andrew attended Queen Mary University and did postgraduate studies at the University of Kent in Canterbury). A lifelong desire to become a professional writer initially earned Andrew some television script commissions and resulted in him being hired as the script editor on Doctor Who, in the days when that role at the BBC was virtually the same as a show runner. He served for three seasons on Doctor Who, a highly influential run which has become memorialised as the ‘Cartmel Masterplan’, before moving on to script edit a season of Casualty and then writing for and script editing Dark Knight at Channel Five. Other television commissions include scripts for Torchwood and Midsomer Murders. He has written novels, toured as a stand-up comedian, written plays for the stage which have been performed in London (End of the Night, Under the Eagle, and his new comedy Screwball) and also written a number of graphic novels. Andrew writes extensively about jazz for the website London Jazz News. He is currently collaborating with Ben Aaronovitch on the highly successful Rivers of London comic franchise. But his primary focus is his series of crime novels about the Vinyl Detective, a jazz-loving record collector turned sleuth; and the Paperback Sleuth series. (Warning: may contain cats.) Andrew’s blog Narrative Drive can be found blog here!. Andrew is also on Twitter.
Elly Griffiths (website)
Elly Griffiths, born Domenica de Rosa, is a British crime novelist known for her archaeological mysteries featuring forensic archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway and detective DCI Harry Nelson. Her works often draw from her interests in archaeology and the performing arts, and she has written over 30 books, including the Ruth Galloway novels, the Brighton Mysteries, and the Harbinder Kaur series. Griffiths’ novels have been translated into 40 languages and have garnered critical acclaim and commercial success. She was born in London in 1963 and moved to Brighton when she was five years old. Her first published novel was “The Italian Quarter,” written during her maternity leave in 1998. Griffiths’ writing has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel and the CWA Dagger in the Library Award.
Joanne Harris is a British author and storyteller best known for her novel Chocolat, adapted into an Oscar-nominated film. She has written over 30 books spanning literary fiction, fantasy, magic realism, psychological thrillers, and non-fiction, with recurring themes of folklore, women’s empowerment, identity, and food. Her accolades include an OBE, fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature, Whitaker Gold and Platinum Awards, and multiple international honours. A former Chair of the Society of Authors, she is also a musician with the #Storytime Band and an advocate for authors’ rights. You can visit Joanne’s website here!
Vaseem Khan is a British crime writer best known for the award-winning Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series, set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House novels, set in 1950s India. His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, became a Times bestseller and was translated into over 15 languages. Khan, a former Chair of the UK Crime Writers’ Association, has also written The Girl in Cell A and the James Bond–inspired Q Mysteries series. You can visite Vaseem’s website here!
Vaseem Khan is a British crime writer best known for the award-winning Baby Ganesh Detective Agency series, set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House novels, set in 1950s India. His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, became a Times bestseller and was translated into over 15 languages. Khan, a former Chair of the UK Crime Writers’ Association, has also written The Girl in Cell A and the James Bond–inspired Q Mysteries series. You can visite Vaseem’s website here!
C K McDonnell is an Irish writer and former stand-up comedian. Born in Limerick and raised in Dublin, he later moved to Manchester. McDonnell has a degree in Electronic Engineering from Dublin City University and initially worked as a computer server. He transitioned from stand-up comedy to full-time writing, creating a diverse body of work that includes comic crime thrillers and humorous paranormal fantasy. His notable works include the Stranger Times series, which blends urban fantasy, paranormal, and crime elements, and the Dublin Trilogy. McDonnell’s writing has been recognized with awards such as the Best Audio Work at the British Fantasy Awards 2023. He lives in Manchester with his wife Elaine Ofori, who runs McFori Ink, a publishing company. You can visit Caimh’s webiste here!
Mark Stay is an English screenwriter and novelist, best known for his collaborations with Jon Wright. Born in London, Stay worked in retail and then in publishing. He would write in his spare time, eventually publishing novels such as The Witches of Woodville series from Simon & Schuster and The End of Magic Trilogy from Unbound. His first screenplay, Eddie’s Dead, was chosen for the Film London Microwave scheme, and he was selected for Vipers Nest, a creative collective for commercial-orientated emerging filmmakers. Stay co-wrote the science fiction adventure film Robot Overlords starring Ben Kingsley and Gillian Anderson, and the film’s novelisation. Stay also co-wrote Unwelcome, a fantasy horror film, and sold a treatment to production company Moonriver TV, a prequel to the Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, that became the 2024 Disney+, later Amazon Prime Video, television series Nautilus. Stay now lives in Kent with his wife Claire Burgess. You can visit his website here!
James Swallow is a BAFTA-nominated scriptwriter, and the award-winning New York Times, Sunday Times and Amazon #1 bestselling author of over sixty-five novels, with millions of books in print worldwide. He write’s action-packed espionage thrillers, fast-paced science fiction, videogames and more. He has experience in television, radio drama and games; along with his bestselling Marc Dane series, stand-alone thrillers and Sundowners steampunk westerns, He has written fiction in the worlds of Star Trek, Doctor Who, 24, Marvel, Tom Clancy, Halo, Warhammer 40,000, Stargate, 2000AD, Blake’s 7 and many more. His script credits include Star Trek: Voyager, the blockbuster Deus Ex series, Disney Infinity: Star Wars, The Division 2, Ghost Recon Wildlands and Battlestar Galactica. His work has been published in several languages and territories around the world, including Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Finland, Brazil, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. You can visit his website here!
Raymond Chandler was an American-British novelist and screenwriter, celebrated as a founder of the hardboiled school of detective fiction. After losing his oil executive job in 1932, he began writing for pulp magazine Black Mask, debuting with “Blackmailers Don’t Shoot” (1933). His seven novels, including The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, The Long Goodbye, and The Lady in the Lake, feature the iconic private detective Philip Marlowe, known for integrity in a corrupt Los Angeles. Chandler’s influence extended to Hollywood, where he co-wrote screenplays such as Double Indemnity and The Blue Dahlia, and to literary criticism with his essay “The Simple Art of Murder.” His sharp, atmospheric style reshaped 20th-century crime fiction. You can visit his website here!
William Gibson is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist credited with pioneering the cyberpunk genre. He coined the term “cyberspace” in his 1982 short story Burning Chrome and popularized it in his debut novel Neuromancer (1984), which won the Nebula, Hugo, and Philip K. Dick Awards. His works, including the Sprawl, Bridge, and Blue Ant trilogies, often explore the impact of technology on society. Collaborations like The Difference Engine expanded into steampunk, and later novels such as The Peripheral and Agency blended speculative elements with near-future realism. You can visit his website here!
Ed McBain, a recipient of the Mystery Writers of America’s coveted Grand Master Award, was also the first American to receive the Diamond Dagger, the British Crime Writers Association’s highest award. His books have sold more than one hundred million copies, ranging from the more than fifty titles in the 87th Precinct series (including the Edgar Award–nominated Money, Money, Money) to the bestselling novels written under his own name, Evan Hunter—including The Blackboard Jungle (now in a fiftieth anniversary edition from Pocket Books) and Criminal Conversation. Fiddlers, his final 87th Precinct novel, was recently published in hardcover. Writing as both Ed McBain and Evan Hunter, he broke new ground with Candyland, a novel in two parts. He also wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. He died in 2005. Visit EdMcBain.com.
Professor Sir Terry Pratchett OBE was the creator of the hugely successful Discworld series of novels, and became Britain’s best-selling author of adult fiction, writing over fifty wildly successful titles in his lifetime. Visit his website here!
Ruth Rendell CBE, (1930–2015) won three Edgar Awards, the highest accolade from Mystery Writers of America, as well as four Gold Daggers and a Diamond Dagger for outstanding contribution to the genre from England’s prestigious Crime Writers’ Association. Her remarkable career spanned a half century, with more than sixty books published. A member of the House of Lords, she was one of the great literary figures of our time.
