Speakers
Writing professionals to help you improve and progress
We've curated an amazing line-up of speakers and hosts that will inspire you to write and understand what goes on behind-the-scenes of the writing world. Professional authors, TV and film screenwriters, journalists, editors, writing coaches and literary agents will be giving advice and expertise to help you with your writing journey.​
Early Bird Discount
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Enter EarlyBird15 at the checkout for 15% off all talks, panels and workshops.
Excludes 1-2-1s, literary walk and headshot photo studio.​
Offer ends 28th February 2025.
Chantelle Atkins
Children's author based in Christchurch.
Co-director of Chasing Driftwood Writing Group.
Christine Aziz
Won Richard & Judy book prize.
Creative writing tutor at AUB and former international journalist.
Katherine Baldwin
Author, journalist and coach.
Transformational coach, inspirational writer and motivational speaker. Author of How To Fall in Love.
Write your first full-length book (with Valerie French)
Stacie Bates
Playwright and Director.
Founder of Assembled Moments Theatre based in the New Forest.
Sophie Beal
Director of Cadence Publishing.
Publisher, writer and freelance journalist.
Organising Chaos: Turn a Messy Draft into a Publishable Book (with Gary Dalkin)
Tim Berry
Head of Sparks Film School Bournemouth & Poole
Writer, filmmaker and musical theatre performer based in Dorset
What Makes an Exciting Screenplay?
(For Children 9+)
C.W. Blackburn
Poet
Mystical Poet & Mental Health Advocate.
Author of Five Collections of Poetry.
Anna Britton
Author and book editor
Author of Shot in the Dark and Close to the Edge, published by Canelo. Presenter of the Rejected Writers' Club podcast.
The Querying Process (with Saskia Leach)
Suzy Bussell
Mystery author.
Author of 8 mystery novels set in Devon.
Plot Your Perfect Mystery (with Paula Harmon)
T.H. Carrington
Author and social media executive.
Social media exec using TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. Author of The Heart Snatcher.
Megan Carroll
Literary agent at Watson, Little.
Graduated from Goldsmiths with a BA in English and American Literature in 2013 and has worked at the agency since 2014.
Working with an Agent (with Laura Williams) and Literary Agent 1-2-1.
Tim Clague and Danny Stack
Film and TV screenwriters.
Tim and Danny have written or directed for BBC, ITV, Channel 5, Paramount+ as well as several independent movies.
Miriam Coley
Writer
Author, poet, playwright and performer.
Paul Coomey
Author and Illustrator.
Published author and illustrator whose day job is plot and character ideation
Peter Cooper
Poet, playwright, podcaster.
Peter Cooper has earned his living for fifty years as a playwright
Putting the Y in Wryting (with Timo Peach)
Andreina Cordani
Writer, editor and book reviewer.
Author of The Twelve Days of Murder and Murder at the Christmas Emporium.
Gary Dalkin
Editor and writer for hire with 30 years publishing experience.
Contributor to over 300 issues of Writing Magazine. Editor of self-published and award-winning/nominated authors from both sides of the Atlantic.
Adrienne Dines
Storysmith
A published literary writer, speaker and versatile teacher and coach
Paul Draper
Award-winning author of dark fiction "Black Gate Tales" and screenwriter.
Writer of over 100 short stories, commercial scriptwriter and Audible audiobook producer.
Luke English
Media specialist lawyer.
Writer's rights, contracts and Intellectual Property rights.
Alice Flynn
Writer, movement practitioner and theatremaker.
Working within community wellbeing, blending somatic practices and accessible arts
Kanthi Ford
Best-selling author and business consultant.
Former journalist and TV producer (in drama, comedy, documentaries and docu-drama).
Valerie French
Freelance Journalist & author.
Published in The Guardian, Vancouver Sun, BBC Radio 4’s PM, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Writing your first full-length book (with Katherine Baldwin)
Beverley Glick
Author & editor.
Former national newspaper journalist, now a developmental editor and book coach at The Right Book Company. Author of In Your Own Words, published February 2024.
Bradford Gyori
Writer and lecturer.
Programme Leader of the MA in Creative Writing and Publishing at Bournemouth University.
Paula Harmon
Fiction author.
Her book ‘Death in the Last Reel’ was shortlisted for the Selfies 2022.
Plot Your Perfect Mystery (with Suzy Bussell)
Briony Hartley
Graphic designer and colour addict.
Book designer, author and design lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth'
Ellie Hawkes
Writer and editor.
Founder of Elspells Writing Feedback, a service which provides affordable feedback for new writers
Katie Heaton
Local history librarian
Award-winning librarian and one of the CILIP125 new generation of librarians, information and knowledge management professionals, and has spent the last 15 years helping the people of Poole explore their local and family histories.
From Our Page to Yours (with Erni Salleh)
Nigel Jones
Author and life coach
Founder of the health and wellness channel 9km By 9am, accredited Sober & Life Coach and author of “Walking back to Happiness - the secret to alcohol-free living & well-being"
K.M Kelly
Author
Her debut thriller, The Sleepers, was published by Bloodhound Books in April 2022, writing as KM Kelly. Winner of the Yeovil Short Story Prize.
Joanna Knowles
Author
Author of two novels published with Orion Publishing. She was short-listed with Penguin Books and highly commended for a short story with the Jane Austen Literary Foundation.
Martin J Lake
Fantasy Author & Tech Guru
Martin is the Head of Technology and AI at RiskSTOP. His first novel 'Beyond the Stones' was published in August 2024 by SpellBound Books Ltd., whom he has a 3-book contract with.
Saskia Leach
Junior Literary Agent
Saskia is a junior literary agent at Kate Nash Literary Agency
The Querying Process (with Anna Britton) and Literary Agent 1-2-1
Dr Jade Levell
Researcher, author, speaker, and activist.
Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Gender Violence at the University of Bristol and part of the Gender and Violence Research Centre. Non-fiction author.
Rachel McLean
Multi-million-selling author.
Best-selling author of the Dorset Crime Series - the first book in that series, The Corfe Castle Murders, won the 2021 Kindle Storyteller Award.
Hattie Miles
Walking historian.
Photographer. Hattie's walks for the past two festivals have all sold out.
Susannah O'Brien
English Teacher and Writer.
Since 2020, she has taught over 1000 students online through the OutSchool programme. Her children’s story was published in a Walker compilation of ‘Animal Stories’.
Write Like Shakespeare (for children)
Luke Palmer
Secondary teacher and award-winning YA author and poet.
His debut novel, Grow, was longlisted for the 2022 Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award.
Sam Parks
Author.
Former editor and current romance author for HarperCollins UK.
Timo Peach
Music artist, presenter and futures thinker.
The Outsiders Project works with artists to tell stories that are exquisite, fearless, and uncensored.
Putting the Y in Wryting (with Peter Cooper)
Abby G Poetree
Poet.
She has hosted the well-established poetry open mic night in Bournemouth called 'The Platform' for five years and regularly performs in the local area.
Estelle Phillips
Poet and Writer
Published poet, including "In Memory Of Annie" (BBC/Prime Theatre), "The Headless Horseman" (Chase and Chalke) and "Motherhoodlum" (Jawbone).
Claire Reilly
Founder of Wakey Wakey ARTS
Wakey Wakey ARTS is an Arts intermediary service based in Bournemouth which uses participatory arts to reduce the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences.
Erni Salleh
Author
Her first novel, The Java Enigma, was shortlisted for the 2020 Epigram Books Fiction Prize.
Myriam San Marco
Poet, promoter and educator.
In their tenure as Bournemouth Poet Laureate, they led writing and development programmes for local writers, schools, and universities with support from Bournemouth Libraries.
Writing for Wellbeing at the Russell Cotes
Francesco Sarti
Author and speaker
Public Speaker and Author of poetry, short fiction and novels, published in both Italian and English.
Lisa Sell
Author
Mystery, thrillers, and crime author with five published novels, based in Bournemouth.
Tom Shaw
Poet
Tom is also the Director of Operations for Over To The Youth.
Matt Shaw
The published author of over 400 publications.
Not just a hobby but a career.
Jane Skellett
Community Writer & Tutor.
46 years enabling and encouraging creative writing in a wide range of community settings and across different genres. Founder of the Hengistbury Head writers group and a member of the Society of Women Writers & Journalists.
Alex Stone
Author of psychological thrillers set on the stunning Dorset coast.
Author of The Perfect Daughter and The Other Girlfriend.
Alex Thompson
Managing Director at Troubador Publishing.
After being a director for multiple London based marketing agencies, Alex now tries to help as many self-published authors find their best route to publication as he can.
Laura Williams
Literary Agent at Greene & Heaton
Laura started at Greene & Heaton as an agent in 2018, having worked at PFD from 2011 after studying Classics at Oxford.
Working with an Agent (with Megan Carroll) and Literary Agent 1-2-1
James Woolf
Author
James Woolf is a London-based writer. His debut thriller, Indefensible, was published by Bloodhound Books and became an Amazon best seller.