Samira Ahmed
Samira Ahmed is a British freelance journalist, writer and broadcaster at the BBC, where she has presented Radio 4’s PM, Front Row, Newswatch The World Tonight and Sunday and Channel 4 News, has hosted the Proms and has made two series of the Intelligence Squared podcast How I Found My Voice. Samira was brought up in Wimbledon and lives locally.
Jennifer Cox
Jennifer Cox is a freelance journalist, commissioning editor at News UK and columnist. She frequently contributes to Good Housekeeping and the Mail on Sunday on her favourite things: food, books and travel. Previously, she was Head of Public Relations at Lonely Planet and a broadcaster for the BBC.
Afua Hirsch
Former barrister Afua Hirsch is an award-winning writer, journalist and broadcaster. She is a columnist for the Guardian, and appears regularly on the BBC, Sky News and CNN. Her book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, became a Times Bestseller and won the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Prize. She is also the author the children’s book Equal To Everything, which tells the story of Lady Brenda Hale who was until recently the only woman in the UK Supreme Court
Baroness Sheila Hollins
Baroness Sheila Hollins is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry of Disability at St. George’s University of London, and former president of BMA. Sheila is the founder, editor and lead author of the Books Beyond Words series.
Razia Iqbal
Razia Iqbal is a BBC journalist who has worked as an arts correspondent as well as a presenter of Newshour on the BBC World Service. She presents Talking Books for the BBC news channel and spent six months as the Ferris Visiting Journalism Professor at Princeton University, where she taught a class on journalism with a focus on international news.
Brian Moore
Brian Moore is an English former rugby union footballer and qualified as a Rugby Football Union referee in February 2010. He is a city solicitor and columnist for The Telegraph. He is the author of several books published by Simon & Schuster, including his autobiography Beware of the Dog.
Michelle Paver
Michelle Paver is the bestselling children’s author of The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, which have sold over a million copies in the UK, and Gods and Warriors. She was brought up in Wimbledon, attended Wimbledon High School, and has now returned here to write.
Peter Straus
Peter Straus CBE is a literary agent and the Managing Director at RCW. Over the course of his career, he has worked for Hodder & Stoughton, Hamish Hamilton and Macmillan. He has worked with a stellar list of literary figures and and writers including Cormac McCarthy, V S Naipaul, Kazuo Ishiguro, Colm Toibin, Kate Atkinson, Alexei Sayle, Kate Atkinson and Carol Ann Duffy. Peter lives in Wimbledon.
Jane Thynne
Jane Thynne has appeared on many TV and radio programmes, including her own Radio 4 series and writes for numerous magazines. She is author of Kindle No 1 bestseller Black Roses. Her recent dystopian fiction Queen High which she penned as C J Carey picked by 2022 Book of the Year by The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times and The Guardian. Jane lives in Wimbledon.
David Wood
As an actor, novelist, playwright and magician, David Wood OBE is a man of many talents. David has supported the festival from the start and his attachment and support continues to push the BookFest in new directions. David’s guests at BookFest have included Maureen Lipman, Michael Palin and Michelle Magorian.
