Walter James Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurber's first short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World—and Welcome to It in 1942. Thurber loosely based the character, a daydreamer, on his friend Walter Mithoff. It was made into a film in 1947 starring Danny Kaye, with a remake directed by, and starring Ben Stiller released in 2013.
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as Mrs Brown (1997), the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, he starred as Count Dracula in the gothic horror film Dracula 2000 with Christopher Plummer and Jonny Lee Miller.
Ruth Sophia Padel FRSL FZS is a British poet, novelist and non-fiction author, in whose work "the journey is the stepping stone to lyrical reflections on the human condition". She is known for her explorations through poetry of migration and refugees, science, and homelessness; for her involvement in wildlife conservation, Greece, and music; and for her belief that poetry "connects with every area of life" and "has a responsibility to look at the world". She is Trustee for conservation charity New Networks for Nature, has served on the Board of the Zoological Society of London, and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and 4 on poetry, wildlife and music. In 2013 she joined King's College London, where she is Professor of Poetry.
Michael Wayne Rosen is an English children's author and poet who has written 140 books. He served as Children's Laureate from June 2007 to June 2009. He has also been a TV presenter and a political columnist.
Robert Macfarlane is a British writer and Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
John Julian Timothy Jeal but known as Tim Jeal is a British biographer of notable Victorians and is also a novelist. His publications include a memoir and biographies of David Livingstone (1973), Robert Baden-Powell (1989), and Henry Morton Stanley (2007). Jeal was formally educated in London and Oxford, and lives in north London. He has a wife and three daughters.
Elif Shafak FRSL is a Turkish-British writer, storyteller, essayist, academic, public speaker, and women's rights activist. In English, she publishes under the anglicised spelling of her pen-name 'Elif Shafak'.
Canongate Books is an independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mick Wall is a British music journalist, author, and radio and TV presenter. He has been described as "the world's leading rock and metal writer".
Jonathan Otter Self is an English author and journalist.
Thomas Harding is a British non-fiction author, journalist, and former documentary maker.
Lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) in English law were created under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and came into effect on 1 October 2007. The LPA replaced the former enduring powers of attorney (EPA) which were narrower in scope. Their purpose is to meet the needs of those who can see a time when they will not be able – in the words of the Act, will lack capacity – to look after their own personal, financial or business affairs. The LPA allows them to make appropriate arrangements for family members or trusted friends to be authorised to make decisions on their behalf. The LPA is created and registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice of the United Kingdom.
Andy Richardson is an award-winning British writer, promoter and publisher. He worked with the Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite to ghostwrite his autobiography, A Spectacle of Dust and among other titles also ghostwrote rock star John Lydon's cult book, I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right. He has worked at New Musical Express, where his cover features included Prince, Bono, Oasis and Radiohead. He has worked for numerous British and international newspapers and magazines. He publishes cookery books for Micheiln-starred restaurants. He promotes tours for a variety of rock stars, politicians, actors and other entertainers and public speakers.
Matremoir is a portmanteau word which combines mater and memoir to describe personal poems, essays, graphic narratives, books and films about the mother. Coined by Andre Gerard, the word calls attention to the rapidly growing body of personal, often critical, responses to mothers.
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban is an autobiographical book by Malala Yousafzai, co-written with Christina Lamb. It was published on 8 October 2013, by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK and Little, Brown and Company in the US. The book details the early life of Yousafzai, her father's ownership of schools and activism, the rise and fall of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in Swat Valley and the assassination attempt made against Yousafzai, when she was aged 15, following her activism for female education. It has received a positive critical reception and won awards, though it has been banned in many schools in Pakistan.
Lucy Katherine Mangan is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for The Guardian. Her writing revolves around feminism.
Yemisi Aribisala is a Nigerian essayist, writer, painter, and food memoirist. She has been described as having a "fearless, witty, and unapologetic voice" Her work has been featured in the The New Yorker, The British Vogue, Chimurenga Magazine, Popula, The Johannesburg Review of Books, Guardian UK, Aké Review, and Olongo Africa.
Tanveer Wasim "Tan" France is a British-Pakistani-American fashion designer, television personality, and author. He is one of the very first openly gay South Asian men on a major show and one of the first out Muslim gay men on western television as the fashion expert for the Netflix series Queer Eye, host of the web series Dressing Funny, and co-host of Next In Fashion. His memoir, Naturally Tan, was released in June 2019.
Lady Jean Graham Sibyl Violet Fforde was a British aristocrat and Arran landowner, who worked as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park. She is known for auctioning off her Arran land to pay for central heating in her island cottage.
Christina McDowell is an American author, actress, and filmmaker, best known for her debut novel, After Perfect.
