Jules Acton

Jules Acton – whose surname means ‘oak place’ – can trace her love of nature back to childhood. A former journalist, she has worked for the Woodland Trust, the Wildlife Trusts and WaterAid. She lives near Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, with her husband, Toby, and rescue dog, Pepe. Oaklore is her first book.

@julesacton.bsky.social‬

Abiola Bello

Abiola Bello is a Nigerian-British, prize-winning, bestselling children's and YA author born and raised in London. She is an advocate for diversity in books for young people. She's the author of the award-winning fantasy series Emily Knight and was nominated for the CILIP's Carnegie Award. Abiola contributed to The Very Merry Murder Club, a collection of mysteries from thirteen exciting and diverse children's writers. Her debut YA, Love in Winter Wonderland was an Amazon's Editor's Choice and was featured in The Guardian's Children's and Teens Best New Novels. Abiola won The London Book Fair Trailblazer Awards 2018 and is the co-founder of Hashtag Press, Hashtag BLAK, The Diverse Book Awards and ink! As well as being a writer, Abiola is a professional dancer.

www.a-bello.com | @abiolabello

Helen Bowell

Helen Bowell is a poet, producer and editor. Her debut pamphlet The Barman (Bad Betty Press, 2022) was a Poetry Book Society Choice. Her poems, reviews and translations have been published in bath magg, Poetry London, The Poetry Review, Poetry Wales and elsewhere. She co-directs Dead [Women] Poets Society, which resurrects women poets through events and online, and co-guest-edited Modern Poetry in Translation's Autumn 2020 focus on dead women poets. Helen ran Bi+ Lines, a project for bi+ poets, and edited the first anthology of bi+ poets (fourteen poems, 2023). She produced the Poetry Translation Centre's 20th birthday programme of events in 2024.

@helen.bowell

Kaliane Bradley

Kaliane Bradley is a British-Cambodian writer and editor. She was the winner of the 2022 Harper's Bazaar Short Story Prize and the 2022 V. S. Pritchett Short Story Prize. The Ministry of Time is her first novel - and it became an instant Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller.

@sceptrebooks

Chloe Dalton

Chloe Dalton is a writer, political adviser and foreign policy specialist. She spent over a decade working in the UK Parliament and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and has advised, and written for and with, numerous prominent figures. She divides her time between London and her home in the English countryside. Raising Hare is her first book.

chloedalton.uk @chloedaltonuk @raisinghare

Mariesa Dulak

Mariesa Dulak was born in Yorkshire of dual heritage (Barbadian/White British). Her Dad taught her how to hold a cricket bat, prune roses and master long division while her Mum fed her a nutritious diet of fairy tales, Pam Ayres and Yorkshire puddings. A love of bookish things led to a degree in English literature, an MA in Children’s Literature.

@mariesadulak

Anita Goveas

Anita Goveas is a British-Asian writer of flash fiction and short stories. Her debut flash collection, Families and other natural disasters, is available from Reflex Press.
She's co-edited (with Susmita Battacharya and Farhana Khalique) Flash Fusion an anthology of flash fiction, writing prompts and interviews by and about authors of South Asian Heritage available from Dahlia Publishing.

@raspberrybakewell @coffeeandpaneer.bsky.social www.coffeeandpaneer.wordpress.com

Janice Hallett

Janice Hallett's bestselling debut novel, The Appeal, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and won the CWA Debut Dagger Award. The Twyford Code, was a Sunday Times bestseller and won the British Book Awards Crime and Thriller Book of the Year. Her third novel, The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. The Examiner is her latest release. She lives in West London.

@JaniceHallett

Louise Hare

Louise Hare is a Wandsworth based writer and has an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. London is the inspiration for much of her work, although her most recent novel, Harlem After Midnight, is set in New York. In 2020 she was named one of the Observer’s Top Ten Debut Novelists for that year. Her debut novel, This Lovely City, was featured on the inaugural series of BBC2’s book club Between the Covers and was shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize.

@louhare

Amelia Kyazze

Amelia Kyazze is a British–American writer and photographer. The Café on Manor Lane is her third novel. She tends to write gritty yet uplifting books, with dual-timelines. She incorporates multiple character's perspectives to explore questions about families and diverse relationships. Before becoming a full-time writer, Kyazze spent two decades working for different humanitarian and refugee organisations, writing and taking photographs in the Balkans, Africa, and Asia. She lives with her Ugandan-British husband and two children in Lewisham, southeast London. When not writing or taking photographs, she mentors other writers, facilitates creative writing workshops.

@abk_writing

Annie Lyons

After twelve years working in bookselling and publishing, Annie Lyons’ debut novel, Not Quite Perfect, became a number one bestseller. Her 2020 novel, Eudora Honeysett is Quite Well, Thank You was a USA Today bestseller and her first historical fiction novel, The Air Raid Book Club was translated into seven languages. Annie's new novel, A Girl's Guide to Winning the War, is just out in paperback. When not working on her novels, Annie teaches creative writing courses at venues within Beckenham Place Park. She also regularly visits with her black labrador, Nelson who is a big fan of the park’s many swamps and puddles.

@annielyonsauthor www.facebook.com/annielyonswriter annielyonswriter.bsky.social www.annielyons.com

Jack Meggitt-Phillips

Jack Meggitt-Phillips is an incredibly exciting new talent. He is an author, scriptwriter and playwright whose work has been performed at The Roundhouse and featured on Radio 4. He is scriptwriter and presenter of The History of Advertising podcast. In his mind, Jack is an enormously talented ballroom dancer, however his enthusiasm far surpasses his actual talent. Jack lives in north London where he spends most of his time drinking peculiar teas and reading PG Wodehouse novels.

@jmeggittphillips

Ned Palmer

Ned Palmer runs the Cheese Tasting Company, whose unique events pair cheese with wines, beers, whiskies and history. After studying philosophy, theatre and experimental psychology, he worked as a jazz pianist and hospital porter, before helping out on a stall at Borough Market led him into a life of cheesemongering. He is also the author of A Cheesemonger’s Guide to the British Isles.

@cheesetastingco.bsky.social

Allison Parkinson

Allison Parkinson is a London-based children's author and illustrator. She writes and illustrates picture books and chapter books that celebrate diversity and take young readers on fun and educational adventures. For more information about Allison and her books visit www.tigerseyebooks.co.uk

Robert
Sae-Heng

Robert Sae-Heng is an artist with a BA in Illustration from the University for the Creative Arts, London. He is the illustrator of Linda Sue Park’s The One Thing You’d Save.

@robertsaeheng @weareminiartists

Joséphine Seblon

Joséphine Seblon studied art history at the École du Louvre and now works in publishing in London. She co-curated VIEW, a festival of art history at the Institut Français in London. Through her Instagram @weareminiartists, she shares the creative fun she has with her two young children, learning about and making art.

@ikonojo @weareminiartists

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Arts in the Park CIC 15290631