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The Author’s Stage

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Bryony Gordon

Bryony Gordon is a journalist, author, and mental health advocate. She writes a column for the Daily Mail and hosts The Life of Bryony podcast. Before that, she spent 23 years at The Telegraph, where she became one of its most beloved writers and hosted the Mad World podcast.

She’s the bestselling author of The Wrong Knickers and Mad Woman, as well as You Got This and Mad Girl, both Sunday Times Number One bestsellers and British Book Award nominees.

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Adam Frost
Adam Frost
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Ben Miller
Ben Miller
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Dom Joly
Dom Joly
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Dr Julie Smith
Dr Julie Smith
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Gillian McAllister
Gillian McAllister
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Adam Frost

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Adam Frost has won seven gold medals at RHS Chelsea Flower Show; is a television presenter for Gardeners' World; an RHS Ambassador; he established the Homebase Garden Academy; and has designed a garden for the NHS. Adam recognises plants and gardening improve his life, and his honest, no-nonsense approach to his wellbeing and male mental health are discussed in his tours. He has written about the link between health and gardening in Gardeners' World magazine.

Ben Miller

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Since penning his first children's book in 2018, Ben has become one of the UK's most beloved children's authors and was in the top 10 biggest bestselling Children’s Fiction Author list in both 2021 and 2022. His titles include Robin Hood Aged 10 ¾, Once Upon A Legend, The Day I Fell Into A Fairytale; How I Became a Dog Called Midnight; The Boy Who Made the World Disappear; The Night We Got Stuck in a Story; and the Christmas Elf Chronicles.

A much-loved, longstanding star of film, television and stage, Ben rose to fame as one half of the eponymous comedy duo behind the BAFTA winning The Armstrong and Miller Show (BBC) with Alexander Armstrong. Currently playing the title role in the hit ITV series Professor T, Ben is also known for his performances as Bough in the Johnny English feature films alongside Rowan Atkinson, the Colonel in the much-loved Paddington franchise, and Richard Poole in the hugely popular Death in Paradise (BBC).

Dom Joly

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Dom Joly is a multi-award-winning comedian, has been a columnist for the Independent, I and Metro, and is also an award-winning travel writer for the Sunday Times and the Mail On Sunday.

He was the star, producer and director of Trigger Happy TV (2000-2003), a hidden camera prank show that was broadcast in over 70 countries worldwide. He is also an ambassador for Save the Children.

Dr Julie Smith

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Dr Julie Smith is the nation's favourite psychologist. An author, online educator and Clinical Psychologist, Julie has a combined following of almost nine million. She shot to fame with viral videos on social media, and her drive to create accessible, good quality mental health resources, that were rooted in her decade of experience as a Clinical Psychologist led to her writing Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? A publishing phenomenon, the book spent over 100 weeks in the UK Sunday Times bestseller charts with 23 of those at #1. Her latest book, Open When… shows you how to reframe life’s complex problem and return to a place of calm, strength and positivity.

Gillian McAllister

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Gillian McAllister is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of nine stand-alone novels. Her books have been selected for the Radio 2 Book Club, Reese’s Book Club and the Richard & Judy Book Club. Her previous novel, Wrong Place Wrong Time, was The Sunday Times Thriller of the Year, Waterstones Thriller of the Month and was shortlisted for The British Book Awards 2023 Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. Wrong Place Wrong Time has sold over a million copies worldwide, and Gillian’s novel Just Another Missing Person is being adapted for TV by Georgia Pritchett (Succession, Veep). Her just released thriller, Famous Last Words, is already a Sunday Times best-seller. Before becoming a writer, Gillian trained in law and worked as a solicitor.

Holly Bourne
Holly Bourne
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Julia Bradbury
Julia Bradbury
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Rev. Richard Coles
Rev. Richard Coles
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Shaparak Khorsandi
Shaparak Khorsandi
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Holly Bourne

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Holly Bourne is a bestselling and critically acclaimed author of YA and adult novels including the Spinster Club series and How Do You Like Me Now? Inspired by her work with young people, and her own experiences of everyday sexism, Holly is a passionate mental health advocate and proud feminist.

Starting her writing career as a news journalist, Holly has also been an editor, relationship advisor and ‘agony aunt’ for a youth charity. Holly’s experiences of early motherhood and female friendship have inspired So Thrilled For You.

Julia Bradbury

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Julia Bradbury is a beloved television presenter, author, nature advocate, and charity campaigner known for bringing her passion for the great outdoors to prime-time TV. She has fronted popular shows such as Britain’s Best Walks, Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury, and Wainwright’s Walks in the Lake District. Her television career began as a showbiz reporter in Los Angeles before returning to the UK to help launch Channel 5. She later became a key part of Countryfile on BBC1, as well as appearing on flagship shows like Top Gear and Watchdog.

She is also an accomplished author with several books on walking, nature, and well-being, including the 2023 Sunday Times bestseller Walk Yourself Happy, which explores how nature can help improve mental and physical health. Her sequel Hack Yourself Healthy will be hot off the press and available from September.

Born in Dublin and raised in Sheffield, Julia developed a love for walking through adventures with her father in the Peak District. This passion inspired her to co-found The Outdoor Guide and The Outdoor Guide Foundation with her sister Gina, promoting the joy and protection of green spaces while raising funds to donate waterproof kits to state primary schools.

Julia is a committed advocate for health and wellness, particularly after her 2021 breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent recovery. Her documentary Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer & Me won widespread acclaim. She continues to champion breast cancer charities and campaigns for better research and diagnosis of conditions like endometriosis.

Rev. Richard Coles

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The Reverand Richard Coles is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for a number of years and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You and Would I Lie To You?   He has won Christmas MasterChef, Celebrity Mastermind twice, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019.

A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing  (2017) and a third place finalist on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!  (2024) he exhibits huge bravery.

He writes regularly for the Sunday Times, and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, written after the death of his partner, David Coles. The first three books in the Canon Clement series have all been No.1 Sunday Times bestsellers.

Shaparak Khorsandi

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Shaparak Khorsandi is one of the country's finest comedians, having launched herself back in 2006 with her sell out Edinburgh show, Asylum Speaker. Shaparak's career has taken her to all corners of the globe, she has appeared on countless TV & Radio shows including; Live At The Apollo, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Have I Got News For You, QI, The Graham Norton Show and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. She is also the author of the bestselling childhood memoir, A Beginner's Guide To Acting English and Nina is Not OK.

Ben Miller
Adam Frost
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Ben Miller
Ben Miller
READ BIO

Adam Frost

CLOSE

Adam Frost has won seven gold medals at RHS Chelsea Flower Show; is a television presenter for Gardeners' World; an RHS Ambassador; he established the Homebase Garden Academy; and has designed a garden for the NHS. Adam recognises plants and gardening improve his life, and his honest, no-nonsense approach to his wellbeing and male mental health are discussed in his tours. He has written about the link between health and gardening in Gardeners' World magazine

Ben Miller

CLOSE

Since penning his first children's book in 2018, Ben has become one of the UK's most beloved children's authors and was in the top 10 biggest bestselling Children’s Fiction Author list in both 2021 and 2022. His titles include Robin Hood Aged 10 ¾, Once Upon A Legend, The Day I Fell Into A Fairytale; How I Became a Dog Called Midnight; The Boy Who Made the World Disappear; The Night We Got Stuck in a Story; and the Christmas Elf Chronicles.

A much-loved, longstanding star of film, television and stage, Ben rose to fame as one half of the eponymous comedy duo behind the BAFTA winning The Armstrong and Miller Show (BBC) with Alexander Armstrong. Currently playing the title role in the hit ITV series Professor T, Ben is also known for his performances as Bough in the Johnny English feature films alongside Rowan Atkinson, the Colonel in the much-loved Paddington franchise, and Richard Poole in the hugely popular Death in Paradise (BBC).

Dom Joly
Dom Joly
READ BIO
Dr Julie Smith
Dr Julie Smith
READ BIO

Dom Joly

CLOSE

Dom Joly is a multi-award-winning comedian, has been a columnist for the Independent, I and Metro, and is also an award-winning travel writer for the Sunday Times and the Mail On Sunday.

He was the star, producer and director of Trigger Happy TV (2000-2003), a hidden camera prank show that was broadcast in over 70 countries worldwide. He is also an ambassador for Save the Children.

Dr Julie Smith

CLOSE

Dr Julie Smith is the nation's favourite psychologist. An author, online educator and Clinical Psychologist, Julie has a combined following of almost nine million. She shot to fame with viral videos on social media, and her drive to create accessible, good quality mental health resources, that were rooted in her decade of experience as a Clinical Psychologist led to her writing Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? A publishing phenomenon, the book spent over 100 weeks in the UK Sunday Times bestseller charts with 23 of those at #1. Her latest book, Open When… shows you how to reframe life’s complex problem and return to a place of calm, strength and positivity.

Gillian-McAllister
Gillian McAllister
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Gillian-McAllister.png
Holly Bourne
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Gillian McAllister

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Gillian McAllister is a Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of nine stand-alone novels. Her books have been selected for the Radio 2 Book Club, Reese’s Book Club and the Richard & Judy Book Club. Her previous novel, Wrong Place Wrong Time, was The Sunday Times Thriller of the Year, Waterstones Thriller of the Month and was shortlisted for The British Book Awards 2023 Crime & Thriller Book of the Year. Wrong Place Wrong Time has sold over a million copies worldwide, and Gillian’s novel Just Another Missing Person is being adapted for TV by Georgia Pritchett (Succession, Veep). Her just released thriller, Famous Last Words, is already a Sunday Times and New York Times best-seller. Before becoming a writer, Gillian trained in law and worked as a solicitor.

Holly Bourne

CLOSE

Holly Bourne is a bestselling and critically acclaimed author of YA and adult novels including the Spinster Club series and How Do You Like Me Now? Inspired by her work with young people, and her own experiences of everyday sexism, Holly is a passionate mental health advocate and proud feminist.

Starting her writing career as a news journalist, Holly has also been an editor, relationship advisor and ‘agony aunt’ for a youth charity. Holly’s experiences of early motherhood and female friendship have inspired So Thrilled For You.

Gillian-McAllister.png
Julia Bradbury
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Rev. Richard Coles
Rev. Richard Coles
READ BIO

Julia Bradbury

CLOSE

Julia Bradbury is a beloved television presenter, author, nature advocate, and charity campaigner known for bringing her passion for the great outdoors to prime-time TV. She has fronted popular shows such as Britain’s Best Walks, Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury, and Wainwright’s Walks in the Lake District. Her television career began as a showbiz reporter in Los Angeles before returning to the UK to help launch Channel 5. She later became a key part of Countryfile on BBC1, as well as appearing on flagship shows like Top Gear and Watchdog.

She is also an accomplished author with several books on walking, nature, and well-being, including the 2023 Sunday Times bestseller Walk Yourself Happy, which explores how nature can help improve mental and physical health. Her sequel Hack Yourself Healthy will be hot off the press and available from September.

Born in Dublin and raised in Sheffield, Julia developed a love for walking through adventures with her father in the Peak District. This passion inspired her to co-found The Outdoor Guide and The Outdoor Guide Foundation with her sister Gina, promoting the joy and protection of green spaces while raising funds to donate waterproof kits to state primary schools.

Julia is a committed advocate for health and wellness, particularly after her 2021 breast cancer diagnosis and subsequent recovery. Her documentary Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer & Me won widespread acclaim. She continues to champion breast cancer charities and campaigns for better research and diagnosis of conditions like endometriosis.

Rev. Richard Coles

CLOSE

The Reverand Richard Coles is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for a number of years and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You and Would I Lie To You? He has won Christmas MasterChef, Celebrity Mastermind twice, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019.

A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing (2017) and a third place finalist on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! (2024) he exhibits huge bravery.

He writes regularly for the Sunday Times, and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, written after the death of his partner, David Coles. The first three books in the Canon Clement series have all been No.1 Sunday Times bestsellers.

Rev. Richard Coles
Shaparak Khorsandi
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Shaparak Khorsandi

CLOSE

Shaparak Khorsandi is one of the country's finest comedians, having launched herself back in 2006 with her sell out Edinburgh show, Asylum Speaker. Shaparak's career has taken her to all corners of the globe, she has appeared on countless TV & Radio shows including; Live At The Apollo, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Have I Got News For You, QI, The Graham Norton Show and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. She is also the author of the bestselling childhood memoir, A Beginner's Guide To Acting English and Nina is Not OK.

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