John William Polidori was a British writer and physician. He is known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction. His most successful work was the short story "The Vampyre" (1819), the first published modern vampire story. Although the story was at first erroneously credited to Lord Byron, both Byron and Polidori affirmed that the author was Polidori.
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The town is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk. It has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages, supporting important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship and, coincidentally, where his first vessel to explore the southern ocean, HMS Endeavour was built. Jet and alum were mined locally, and Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians, became fashionable during the 19th century.
Sir Andrew Motion is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio recordings of poets reading their own work. In 2012, he became President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, taking over from Bill Bryson.
David Peace is an English writer. Best known for his UK-set novels Red Riding Quartet (1999–2002), GB84 (2004), The Damned Utd (2006), and Red or Dead (2013), Peace was named one of the Best of Young British Novelists by Granta in their 2003 list. His books often deal with themes of mental breakdown or derangement in the face of extreme circumstances. In an interview with David Mitchell he stated: "I was drawn to writing about individuals and societies in moments that are often extreme, and often at times of defeat, be they personal or broader, or both. I believe that in such moments, during such times, in how we react and how we live, we learn who we truly are, for better or worse."
"The Vampyre" is a short work of prose fiction written in 1819 by John William Polidori taken from the story Lord Byron told as part of a contest among Polidori, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and Percy Shelley. The same contest produced the novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. "The Vampyre" is often viewed as the progenitor of the romantic vampire genre of fantasy fiction. The work is described by Christopher Frayling as "the first story successfully to fuse the disparate elements of vampirism into a coherent literary genre."
Michel Faber is a Dutch-born writer of English-language fiction, including his 2002 novel The Crimson Petal and the White. His latest book is a novel for young adults, D: A Tale of Two Worlds, published in 2020. His next book, Listen, a non-fiction work about music, is due in 2023.
Shadowmancer is a fantasy novel by G. P. Taylor, first published privately in 2002. It is a Christian allegory in the form of a fantasy adventure, akin to C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. Taylor wrote the book to counteract what he saw as a rise in atheist propaganda in children's books such as His Dark Materials. It is the first of four books generally referred to as The Shadowmancer Quartet. The book was a number one best seller in the UK and the US.
Fyling Hall is a private, co-educational day and boarding school situated near the small village of Fylingthorpe, near Robin Hood's Bay, 7 miles (11 km) south east of Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1923 by Mab Bradley, the school was then run for thirty years by her daughter, Clare White. The school is centred on a Georgian country house that dates from 1819 and is situated in 45 acres (180,000 m2) of wooded hillside within the North York Moors National Park.
Markosia is a British comic book publishing company.
Wormwood is a fantasy sequel to G. P. Taylor's Shadowmancer. It follows the adventures of Dr. Sabian Blake and his servant girl, Agetta Lamian. It is a Christian allegory.
Tristan John Gemmill is a British actor, most notable for his roles as Dr Adam Trueman on Casualty, and Robert Preston in Coronation Street. He was educated at Holmewood House School, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, up to the age of 13. He then won an Academic Scholarship to Tonbridge School.
Tersias is the second sequel to the fantasy novel Shadowmancer by G. P. Taylor and direct sequel to Wormwood. Tersias was followed in 2006 by The Shadowmancer Returns: The Curse of Salamander Street. Tersias has had two releases, one for the original copy and a second for a special edition version.
The Damned Utd is a biographical novel by British author David Peace, published in 2006. Depicting events in the life of English football personality Brian Clough, it is set during Clough's brief and unsuccessful 44-day spell as manager of Leeds United during 1974, with frequent flashbacks to his earlier period as manager of Derby County. Despite critical acclaim, the novel was also the subject of controversy for its perceived negative portrayal of Clough and some historical inaccuracies. It was adapted into a film called The Damned United, released in 2009.
Jonathan Newman is a British filmmaker and writer. Newman made his first feature film at the age of 25. Being Considered starred James Dreyfus and David Tennant. His recent movies include the action adventure film Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box, starring Sam Neill, Michael Sheen, Lena Headey and Keeley Hawes, with the lead of Mariah Mundi played by Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard. Retitled The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box, the film was released theatrically in USA on 10 January 2014. In 2012 Newman wrote and directed the critically acclaimed film Foster, starring Toni Collette, Ioan Gruffudd, Richard E. Grant, Anne Reid and Hayley Mills, as well as Swinging with the Finkels, which stars Martin Freeman, singer/actress Mandy Moore, Melissa George, Jonathan Silverman, Angus Deayton and Jerry Stiller. Foster, aka "Angel in the House' won Best Feature film at the Rhode Island Film Festival 2013 as voted for by the youth jury. In 2008 and 2013, Newman was longlisted for The Hospital Club 100 media hotlist. Newman is credited as an assistant author of The Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint.
Aneurin Barnard is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Davey in Hunky Dory, Claude in The Truth About Emanuel, Bobby Willis in Cilla, Tim in Thirteen, King Richard III in The White Queen, William in Dead in a Week or Your Money Back, Gibson in Dunkirk, and Boris Pavlikovsky in The Goldfinch.
"Fragment of a Novel" is an unfinished 1819 vampire horror story written by Lord Byron. The story, also known as "A Fragment" and "The Burial: A Fragment", was one of the first in English to feature a vampire theme. The main character was Augustus Darvell. John William Polidori based his novella The Vampyre (1819), originally attributed in print to Lord Byron, on the Byron fragment. The vampire in the Polidori story, Lord Ruthven, was modelled on Byron himself. The story was the result of the meeting that Byron had in the summer of 1816 with Percy Bysshe Shelley where a "ghost writing" contest was proposed. This contest was also what led to the creation of Frankenstein according to Percy Bysshe Shelley's 1818 Preface to the novel. The story is important in the development and evolution of the vampire story in English literature as one of the first to feature the modern vampire as able to function in society in disguise. The short story first appeared under the title "A Fragment" in the 1819 collection Mazeppa: A Poem, published by John Murray in London.
Major (Ret) John Wilson Senior, MBE, TD, VR, mobilised on 27 December 2001, Senior was the first member of the British Territorial Army to be deployed on operational service to Afghanistan. He is also the founder of Heroes Welcome UK, a national scheme to encourage local communities to show their open support to British and other UK-based military personnel.
The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box is a 2014 fantasy adventure film directed by Jonathan Newman and starring Aneurin Barnard as the protagonist, Mariah Mundi. It also stars Michael Sheen, Sam Neill, Lena Headey, Ioan Gruffudd, Keeley Hawes, and Tristan Gemmill. It was written by Christian Taylor and Matthew Huffman, and is based on the novel Mariah Mundi by G. P. Taylor.
Peter Bevan is a British film producer based in Los Angeles, whose previous producing credits include The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box, Jackboots on Whitehall, Eichmann, Dread, Book of Blood, The Last Harbor, 14 Days with Victor, and The Expatriate. Peter is also co-Founder and co-CEO of the film production company Entertainment Motion Pictures.
