2024

“Abi Fellows is a literary agent at DHH Literary Agency and was shortlisted for Literary Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards (aka the Nibbies) in 2023. She has incredibly broad experience in the industry, having started in bookselling in 2001. After a stint on the sales team of Faber and Faber and a return to education to complete an MA in modernism and postmodernism at University College London, Abi began her agenting career with Georgina Capel Associates in 2004. Abi then moved into literary scouting at RR Ltd for seven years, working with overseas publishers and TV and film production companies. In 2019 she returned to agenting at The Good Literary Agency, building a list focused on amplifying and championing writers from backgrounds that had traditionally been marginalised. She moved to DHH in 2023.”

Aida H Dee is the Storytime Drag Queen. Drag Queen Story Hour is an award-winning show from The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023: winner of The Official Fringe Award “Somewhere For Us”. Aida is a published children’s author, the first drag artist in the UK to read stories in a library, and is the founder of Drag Queen Story Hour UK. She’s also an established Drag cabaret artist working up and down the country. In 2022 she was awarded Leader Of The Year by PinkNews.

Aki Schilz is the Director of The Literary Consultancy, the UK’s longest-running consultancy for writers. She is a judge for various literary prizes including the Bridport First Novel Award and the Creative Future Writing Awards. Aki has featured in the Bookseller 150, a list of the most influential figures in UK publishing, twice: in 2020 and 2021. She is the Founder of the #BookJobTransparency campaign and has been recognised by the Kim Scott Walwyn and h100 awards for her work to improve representation and accessibility in the literature sector. In 2018, Aki set up the Rebecca Swift Foundation, a charity that advances the craft, creativity and wellbeing of women poets, and in 2020 she launched Being A Writer, TLC’s membership platform for writers that prioritises creativity and wellbeing. Through TLC Aki works with corporate publishers to run training sessions focussed on how to establish more ethical editorial frameworks. She is the current Vice Chair of English PEN.

Alice Jolly has won the Pen Ackerley Prize and the V.S.Pritchett Memorial Prize. Her novel ‘Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile’ was runner up for the Rathbones Folio Prize in 2019 and won an O. Henry Award (twenty top short stories in the US in 2021). She is an active member of Just Stop Oil and has been arrested in the struggle against the Climate Emergency. She was a whistle blower in a recent court case against Oxford University. The positive outcome of that case has improved pay and conditions for writers working in Higher Education. Her short story collection ‘From Far Around They Saw Us Burn’ was published by Unbound in 2023. Her new novel ‘The Matchbox Girl’ (which is about Dr Asperger) will be published by Bloomsbury in spring 2025.

Amita is a novelist based in London. Her Unladylike series of Regency novels are published with HarperCollins UK and Avon USA and take us on a wild ride with the Marliegh sisters, daughters of an English earl and his Indian mistress. Cosmopolitan calls her novels ‘scintillating and scandalous’ and Publishers Weekly says, “Murray’s complex, well-shaded protagonists shine as they work through past trauma and champion progressive causes.” When Amita is not diving into colonial history to give us a more accurate picture of Regency England, she is writing about the importance of diverse stories in fiction and sex positivity for women in magazines like Diva, The Big Issue, Red, The New Scientist and others. Amita has won the SI Leeds Literary Prize and the Exeter Novel Prize for her work. She has been writer-in-residence with the British Council, Spread the Word, Leverhulme and others and has taught creative writing at the University of East Anglia. She loves inspiring people to embrace their dark side and live a more creative life that doesn’t necessarily conform to everyone else’s expectations.

“Anna Fargher was raised in a creative hub on the Suffolk coast by an artist and a ballet teacher. She read English Literature at Goldsmiths before working in the British art world and opening her own gallery. She wrote her first book, THE UMBRELLA MOUSE, on her iPhone notepad during her daily commute on the London Underground. THE UMBRELLA MOUSE won the 2019 Sainsbury’s Book Prize for Fiction. It was also selected as Waterstones Book of the Month, longlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and was listed in the Sunday Telegraph’s 50 Best Books of 2019 and featured as its Children’s Book of the Week along with The Week Junior and appeared in the iNewspaper’s list of 30 Best Children’s Books 2019. Its eagerly anticipated sequel, UMBRELLA MOUSE TO THE RESCUE, was released on in July 2020. The New Statesman described both books as ‘the best animal adventures since Margery Sharpe’s THE RESCUERS.’ Anna’s third historical adventure, THE FIRE CATS OF LONDON, was published in July 2022 and was The Times and The Daily Mail’s Children’s Book of the Week. Her fourth novel, DELTA AND THE LOST CITY is due to be published in July 2024. It was previewed as The Bookseller’s Book of The Month, reviewing it as ‘the best adventure set during the explosion of Vesuvius since Robert Harris’ POMPEII, and Delta, who is courageous, loyal and loving, is one of the finest animal protagonists to appear in children’s literature in recent times.’

Multi-instrumentalist, actress, singer, writer and educator, Anna Mudeka is a polymath proud to share the ancestral heritage of her native Zimbabwe through performance and workshops, inviting audiences of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to immerse themselves in sounds, spiritualism and fables of Africa. Anna has been touring her new one woman show, Mama Afrika, telling the important story of musician and apartheid activist Miriam Makeba.

Yogi and founding director of The Nourish Co., April is also a musician, food enthusiast and bunny mum. April’s yoga journey began after graduating from music college and has been her guiding light in creating a life she loves today and led her to her most recent work as a holistic health coach. She draws her inspiration from the many rhythms and cycles of life, with a deep curiosity and love for astrology, all things planetary, the moon, seasons and elements.

Music has always been at the heart of her life, and as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, it’s something she weaves into her work in many ways. April’s journey and curiosity with food began at a very young age, turning vegetarian at 6 and opening a vegan cafe at 25, she now thrives as a plant-based retreat chef.

Ashley Hickson-Lovence is a novelist, university lecturer and former school teacher with a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Ashley’s debut novel The 392 was published by OWN IT! in 2019. His second novel Your Show, published by Faber in 2022, was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Awards. His third book Wild East, a young adult novel-in-verse, was published by Penguin in 2024. He grew up in London but now lives in Norwich.

Veronica and Jess Pal’s Musical journey as Baby Said was ignited after a summer of busking in 2021. Their talents were quickly recognized, and they were invited to play in local venues, leading to the birth of their covers band, AstroModa. In just two years, they have performed at over 200 gigs all over the country, building their confidence and skills to pursue their goal of writing, recording, and releasing their own original music. In March 2023, Baby Said partnered with Big Hug Management, a significant step in their musical career. With this new collaboration, the sisters chose the name “Baby Said,” inspired by their favourite song, “Baby Said” by their favourite band, Måneskin. They have now been joined by Holly Knowles (Rhythm and BV’s) and Maddie Hackett (Drums).

“Bee Rowlatt is the author of the award-winning travelogue In Search of Mary (Alma Books, 2015) co-author of the bestselling Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad (Penguin, 2010) and contributor to Virago’s Fifty Shades of Feminism. Bee led the campaign for the Mary Wollstonecraft memorial – the most trolled artwork in living memory – and came out fighting across national and international media. She programmes events at the British Library, and has chaired writers all over the world, been a BBC producer, taught English to the Vice-President of Colombia and worked in a coleslaw factory. Bee is a regular on TV and radio, and has written for the BBC, Telegraph, Times, Grazia, Die Welt, Guardian and Daily Mail. She now lives in London, but hails from Yorkshire, and used to be a showgirl. One Woman Crime Wave is her first foray into fiction. “Bee’s take on an unequal society doesn’t come with a side helping of gloom. Instead, her bitterly funny work reflects a wish for a saner, more civilised London.” (Camden New Journal)”

Bi-curious George is an award winning drag king whose work centres around queer ecology. Using silliness and camp tomfoolery, he aims to shatter the heteronormative lens through which we view the natural world. He is the 2022 winner of the prestigious Not Another Drag Competition and a 2021 graduate of Soho Theatres cabaret and drag lab. His solo show, Queer Planet, has been performed at venues all over the UK including The Southbank Centre, Soho Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse and Kew Gardens and will be heading to The Pleasance at Edinburgh Festival this summer.

“Cassie Werber is a novelist, journalist, screenwriter and podcaster. She loves books about the complexities and subtleties of human interaction, and OPEN SEASON, her first novel, follows two couples as they begin to explore the world of open relationships. Cassie was home-schooled in Suffolk, studied English at Clare College, Cambridge, and then theatre at Central School of Speech and Drama. She co-founded theatre company ChoppedLogic, and co-wrote and performed in Paramour; wrote and directed The Runaround, and wrote and directed Double Negative, which reached the third round of Soho Theatre’s Verity Bargate award and was Time Out Critics’ Choice. Her screenplays ANMER and REWILD have both been shortlisted for 4Screenwriting. After completing a journalism MA at City University, which also took her to Denmark and Amsterdam, Cassie worked at The Wall Street Journal and as senior reporter at Quartz. Now a freelance journalist, she has written for titles including the Guardian, Vogue and The Economist.”

Cat Weldon is a children’s author who writes funny middle grade fantasy stories with a particular interest in offbeat fairy tales and world mythology. Her hilarious debut trilogy, How to be a Hero, was published by Macmillan Children’s Books, and her new series of graphic novels, Amelia Cheeseheart Investigates, will be published by Guppy Books next year. With a Masters degree in Scriptwriting and a background in children’s theatre, Cat is kept busy with school and library visits and is a regular speaker at literary and historic events. She splits her remaining time between writing, teaching, and chasing her collection of delinquent chickens through the neighbours gardens. Cat lives in East Anglia with her family and can often be found in museums.

Catherine Mayer is a bestselling author, journalist and activist. She is the co-founder and President of the Women’s Equality Party and co-founder of Primadonna. Her books include Amortality: The Pleasures and Perils of Living Agelessly; Charles: The Heart of a King, and Attack of the Fifty Foot Women: How Gender Equality Can Save the World! Her most recent book, the memoir Good Grief: Embracing Life at a Time of Death, contains letters written by her mother after both women were widowed at the start of the pandemic. After the February 2020 death of her husband, the musician Andy Gill, she took on his unfinished projects, releasing two EPs by his band Gang of Four, and acting as executive producer for a tribute album, The Problem of Leisure: A celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four featuring globally famous musicians which was released in June 2021. See her website here or find her on Twitter @catherine_mayer

“Chimene is a writer from London. Her debut memoir ‘The Chain’ has been described as ‘spellbinding’ and ‘jaw-dropping’, as it exposes one man’s abuse and control over many women, and the sisterhood that forms in his wake, despite – and in spite – of him. Chimene was the co-editor of The Good Immigrant USA, and an original contributor to the The Good Immigrant (UK). She has written for the Guardian and Independent, and made appearances on Newsnight, Sky News, and NBC, to name a few. “

Ela Lee was born in 1995 and is a British-Korean-Turkish writer. She grew up in London and previously practised as a lawyer. Her debut novel, Jaded, which explores themes of consent, race, and identity, was published in February 2024 by Vintage (UK) and Simon & Schuster (US). She lives in London, with her partner and their mini Aussie Shepherd.

Fiction Marketer and Content Creator Eleanor Pilcher brings her expertise to Primadonna!

Ella Duffy is is the author of two pamphlets of poetry, New Hunger (Smith|Doorstop) and Rootstalk (Hazel Press), which was shortlisted for a Saboteur Award and was a 2020 Poetry School Book of the Year. Her work has appeared in The Poetry Review, The London Magazine, Poetry Ireland Review and The Rialto, among others. She is the editor of Seeds & Roots, a botanical poetry anthology published by Hazel Press. She is a current doctoral candidate at King’s College London, where she is working on her debut poetry collection.

“Ellen Freeman is an author and poet from Suffolk. In 2023 she completed a Writer’s Residency at the Van Gogh Museum, and is currently working on a collection of essays and poetry inspired by the artist’s life. Ellen was shortlisted for the Canterbury Festival Fiction Prize in 2022, and longlisted for the New Angle Fiction Prize in 2023. Ellen is currently studying MA Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Suffolk, and graduated from the Open University’s BA English Literature and Creative Writing programme in 2021. Her work has featured in Suffolk Reflections, as well as Suffolk Pride: We Are the One in Five, and she has presented work at both the Classical Association Conference (2024) and the University of Suffolk’s Phantasmagoria. “

Ellisha is an award-winning Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Specialist. She is also Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for several colleges and adult education institutions in East Anglia. As a lecturer Ellisha has worked in the education sector for the past 7 years, and in the health and social care/ Public Health sector for over 10 years. Ellisha is an advocate for change on social mobility and was highly influential as one of the first Further Educational lecturers to facilitate Black History across the year in the UK. Her accolades include author on the list creating one of the first Black History interactive books that shows positive representation in book Elimu Little Book of knowledge, which is being used across schools and the award-winning Power of Stories Black Panther Exhibition She also mentors’ young people in the community and collaborates with businesses and communities  to empower others and create new opportunities. Ellisha has worked closely with the Department of Education, and has supported with the equality act legalisation review and continues to do so on creating changes, written educational articles and has been featured in national journals as column writer and papers such as The Guardian and was recently honoured in Glamour magazine for being Top 15 Trailblazer Black Women in the UK, and is United Nations Women’s delegate.

“Franstine is a Public Speaker and has worked as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant for 20 years. Franstine has been working towards ending discrimination and injustice throughout most of her life. In her role as a Public Speaker, she has spoken at the Public Policy Exchange, Westminster Briefings, the House of Commons 50 years celebration of the Race Relations Act, Cambridge University and Amnesty International. She also represented the National Black Police Association at the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Race Discrimination in Geneva. The national media often call on her as a spokesperson on key race-related stories. Franstine was the first woman and police staff in the history of the National Black Police Association to be elected as the President, and was awarded the British Empire Medallion (BEM) in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List for her for services to minority ethnic communities in Suffolk. Franstine is also the CEO of BInspyred and sits on the boards of local community groups. Current engagements include; 1. Equality and Diversity consultancy 2. Decolonising the curriculum in school 3. Mentoring young people 4. Public Speaking “

Georgy is a broadcaster and writer who worked with BBC Local Radio for several years, interviewing celebrities, artists, authors, politicians, sportspeople, and local business owners. She now produces and presents the Radio Academy podcast and writes articles on the history of classic British comedy. On stage, she’s interviewed comedy legend John Clesse, celebrated playwright, director and actor Stephen Berkoff, the doctor and medical researcher Professor Lord Robert Winston and the actor Robert Powell about their lives and careers. She’s also hosted sessions at the Felixstowe Book Festival, Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival, and Norwich Film Festival, where she interviewed the director Michael Winterbottom, and at the Big Comedy Conference in London with the heads of comedy at Channel 4, BBC Studios, ITV and Radio 4.

GIRLBAND! are a new alternative three-piece from Nottingham. Georgie, Kay and Jada are a formidable force for good, a dynamic group that pull on influences from the 50s to the 90s, from music to skating, from Elvis to the personal and the social. After making music individually and with other groups locally Georgie, Jada and Kay came together and rediscovered their love of making music all over. Energised, all three instantly felt at home. Hanging out, talking til 2am, skating, drinking – during the pandemic they plugged into the wider community in Nottingham, one that inspired them with 80s culture, vintage fashion and massive dose of 90s nostalgia, Gwen Stefani and r n b groups. That gang mentality – stuck to each other like glue, totally in sync and ready to take on the world. They are, in their own words, ‘a bulletproof wolfpack’.

Glass House Dance was set up by Sarah Lewis and Laura McGill to take the high art of contemporary dance into the heart of the community. They create essentially human, touching dance pieces with wide appeal for performance in public spaces.

Helen Lederer is a writer, actress, comedian, and presenter. Apart from TV, stage, and radio, she’s best known as Catriona, the dippy journalist in the TV series Absolutely Fabulous – although, her stay in the Big Brother house caused a different kind of notoriety. Her novel, Losing It, was nominated for the PG Wodehouse comedy literary prize. In 2019, Helen set up the Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP), to celebrate witty women writers. She lives in London.

Hugh Mann is a Completely Ordinary Human Man, and definitely NOT an alien from outer space who intends to eventually get round to conquering Earth. Hugh Mann explores what it means to be a human man through original comedy songs.

IRENOSEN OKOJIE is a Nigerian British author whose work pushes the boundaries of form, language and ideas. Her novel, Butterfly Fish, and short story collections, Speak Gigantular and Nudibranch, have won and been nominated for multiple awards. Her journalism has been featured in The New York Times, the Observer, the Guardian and the Huffington Post. She was a Contributing Editor for The White Review. She co-presented the BBC’s Turn Up for The Books podcast, alongside Simon Savidge and Bastille frontman Dan Smith. Her work has been optioned for the screen. She has also judged various literary prizes including the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Gordon Burn Prize and the BBC National Short Story Award. She was a judge for the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, she was awarded an MBE For Services to Literature in 2021. She is the director and founder of Black to the Future festival.

Jan is a multi-award winning comedy writer, broadcaster and journalist. Her most recent success is BBC Radio 4’s comedy Conversations From a Long Marriage, starring Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam, with a sixth series commissioned, to air next year. A paperback and hardback of the book of the scripts has also been published. In a career spanning nearly 40 years, with her husband Gavin Petrie, Jan has written many long running radio and TV hit comedies including Second Thoughts, Next of Kin and Faith in the Future, which won a British Comedy Award. Jan still writes regularly for many publications, including The Daily Telegraph and a monthly column in Suffolk Magazine. A mother of two and grandmother of four, Jan moved to the Suffolk coast 11 years ago. She is a daily sea swimmer and has been a tour guide for Southwold Lighthouse. Jan is a founder and regular contributor to Suffolk’s INK Festival, and her play You’ll Be Fine, based on her conversations with actress Lynda Bellingham about the importance of discussing terminal illness, premiered at the INK Festival in 2022. This year at INK, she presented her new radio drama THE S.H.I.T. Club (Supporting Husbands in Trauma), in which a group of women, with terminally ill husbands, meet to talk, laugh and support each other.

Jane Dyball is a music industry veteran and strategic consultant. Formerly CEO of the £200m turnover businesses owned by the Music Publishers Association, she steered MCPS into financial recovery, paying down its £20m debt and overhauling its relationship with its owners, customers and service providers. in 2018 she won the Outstanding Contribution award at Music Week’s Women in Music Awards, in 2019 she won an Ivors Academy Gold Badge and in 2022 the MPA Gold Badge. Prior to that Jane spent over a decade running Legal & Business Affairs internationally at major publisher Warner/Chappell Music and was additionally responsible for international digital strategy, developing markets and public policy. Jane is passionate about access to opportunity in the Arts. She is Co Chair of Attitude is Everything, Co-founder of the Primadonna Festival, a Trustee of Suffolk Artlink, and is a mentor for tech music incubators including Abbey Road Red. She is a founder Advisory Board member for Music Tech UK. She has a business transformation consultancy business, Laffittes Ltd.

“Jane is an experienced business consultant, executive coach, thought leader and deliberate change agent. She founded her first consultancy business in 2018 after spending 27 years in leadership roles within the corporate world, and cofounded her second business in 2020. Jane’s consultancy business has taken her to Australia and Nigeria working with, and alongside members of Indigenous and Black communities. She is a trusted partner and strategic advisor to many of her clients in the UK, Australia and Nigeria. In 2020 she set up I-Cubed with Dr Maggie Semple OBE. A professional services company that provides tailored DEI solutions to enable companies to transform themselves. Jane co-authored her first book with Maggie in 2021 and a second one in 2023. My Little Black Book: A Blacktionary – The pocket guide to the language of race was published on 5 Oct 2023 by Penguin Random House. A thought leader in the evolving language of race, Jane offers a unique perspective on the impact language has on internal dialogue and frames of reference. She is a great supporter of empowering women and is a regular panel member at Women in Business events. “

“As co-founder and co-head of legendary PR company Savage & Best, Jane Savidge is widely credited as being one of the main instigators of the Britpop movement that swept the UK in the mid 1990s. During this time, Savage & Best represented Suede, Pulp, The Verve, Elastica and Longpigs, whilst representing many other artists of the era including the Cranberries, The Fall and Jesus and Mary Chain. She is the author of Lunch With The Wild Frontiers (2019) and Here They Come With Their Make Up On: Suede, Coming Up and More Adventures Beyond The Wild Frontiers (2022). Jane Savidge’s third book, Pulp’s This Is Hardcore was published by Bloomsbury as part of their 33 1/1 series on March 7, 2024. “

Jo Fairley is an entrepreneur, magazine editor, writer and author of 25 books, including the globally bestselling Beauty Bible seriess. She’s best known for co-founding Green & Black’s chocolate, back in 1991, and has always juggled her entrepreneurial career with writing.

Julia Hobsbawm writes about the past, present and future of work including work life balance, technology and AI and generational shifts.. She is the author of seven books the latest of which is Working Assumptions. She co-hosts the popular podcast The Nowhere Office and writes for media including Bloomberg and Fortune. Until 15th August her hashtag is #only59.

Justine is a passionate, energetic and inventive performer who delights in connecting playfully with audiences and artists through her storytelling, improvisation, hosting and music. With over 25 years professional performance experience, Justine came to storytelling from a background in community and street theatre. Her storytelling practice So… what’s the story? has seen her telling and hosting at festivals and events nationally and internationally including the International Storytelling Festival in Marrakech, Storyseed Festival in Timisoara Romania (European Capital of Culture programme), Cambridge Folk Festival, Leigh Folk Festival, Bath Literary Festival, Edinburgh Literary Festival, Folk East and The National Centre for the Folk Arts at Halsway. Her eclectic storytelling work ranges from telling and facilitating in schools, libraries and prisons, to performing raucous adults only one-woman storytelling shows, to facilitating story sharing through drama for learning disabled people. Her love of live, spontaneous, responsive performance and supporting others to do the same runs through her other performance practices: running courses with her improv company The Unqualified Yes, and hosting joyously eclectic open mic and variety events – online and in person – which bring together new and experienced performers to collaborate across spoken work, improv and music.

Kat Brown is a British journalist whose work examining everything from mental health stigma to The Archers has appeared widely across national print, radio, and TV. Her first books, It’s Not a Bloody Trend: Understanding Life as an ADHD Adult, and No One Talks About This Stuff: 22 Stories of Almost Parenthood, were published 49 days apart which feels like both a record and a mistake. She is an Only Connect quarterfinalist, celebrating the work of Jilly Cooper as team captain of The Jillies, and lives in south London with her husband, their dog, and two appalling cats.

Kate Mosse is an award-winning novelist, playwright, essayist and non-fiction writer, the author of eleven novels and short story collections, and four works of non-fiction including the feminist retelling of history Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and published in more than forty countries. The Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, she is also the Founder of the global #WomanInHistory campaign and a Trustee of the British Library.

“Katie Ward is an award-winning author and a creative writing lecturer at University of Suffolk. Her new novel PATHWAYS (Fleet 2024) is contemporary fiction: ‘Cara is a dedicated neuroscientist with a research post at Cambridge. Heather is her almost-stepdaughter, drifting towards the end of school, trying to picture a future that fits her. Paul is Cara’s partner and Heather’s father – and when he disappears with no explanation, these two very different women, legally and biologically unrelated, need to figure out their place in each other’s life. Set in Cambridge and Las Vegas, each city in its way as artificial as the other, Pathways is about connections forged and connections failed. A novel of both the heart and the head, it is perceptive, wry and unexpectedly moving, a love story of deep originality and intelligence.’ ‘I adored this novel’ – Amanda Hodgkinson ‘Fabulous!’ – Eva Verde ‘Compelling and original’ – Jessica Cornwell In 2013, Katie received the Clarissa Luard Award from Hilary Mantel. Her first novel GIRL READING (Virago 2011) received high critical praise on both sides of the Atlantic. It was a Cactus TV Book Club selection and a book of the week on The Oprah Blog. katieward.co.uk or @katiewardwriter on socials. “

Kitty Johnson is the author of Five Winters. She has an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia and teaches occasional creative writing classes. A nature lover and artist, Kitty enjoys walking in woodland and on the coast with her dog and makes collages and paintings from the landscape. She loves a challenge and once performed stand-up comedy as research for a book—an experience she found very scary but hugely empowering. Kitty lives in Norwich, Norfolk, in the UK with her partner and teenage son. If you’d like to connect then please visit Kitty’s website at www.kittyjohnsonbooks.com where you can sign up to her newsletter. Kitty also be found on Facebook, and Instagram as kittyjohnsonbooks and on Twitter as kittyjohnsonbks.

A Norwich Based singer-songwriter, Kitty Perrin’s intimate indie pop melodies and vulnerable narrative-style song-writing draws inspiration from the blunt 00s pop artists of her youth. To date, her music has earned her support from BBC Radio 1, 6 Music, Clash Magazine and more. With confessional story-telling and unabashed honesty, Kitty has an infallible ability to connect with her audiences. “Beautifully sculpted all too relatable pop-music” – Clash; “Actually gives you heartache”– Jess Iszatt, BBC Radio 1; “Few songwriters wear their emotions as lightly as Kitty does… there’s no hint of melodrama” – For The Rabbits.

Ladybyrd, a 20 year old singer-songwriter from London, kicked off 2024 in spectacular fashion with the release of her soul-stirring single ‘Way Back Home’ with a chorus that echoes through your mind. This was quickly followed by her beautifully anguished, delicate yet cutting single ‘Open Cage’ as the inaugural glimpse into her highly anticipated, enchanting debut album, to be released early 2025. Ladybyrd’s music captivates with a sonic voyage, exploring themes of self-discovery, empowerment and personal growth, with a multidimensional sound infused by cinematic soundscapes. Kissing Undercover is the third single from Ladybyrd in 2024. The song captures the heartache and turmoil of a secret relationship. Inspired by film scores and artists like Kate Bush, Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift, her music has caught the attention of Wonderland, BBC Introducing, Clash, Notion, Metal, the Line of Best Fit, Head Above The Clouds (June Cover), Sunday Times Culture (Breaking Act), and users across TikTok with over 1.7m views.

Layla McCay is Director of Policy at the NHS Confederation and Executive Lead of the UK’s Health and Care LGBTQ+ Leaders Network. She has previously worked as a NHS doctor and in health policy roles with the government, the World Health Organisation and the World Bank, ran a small think tank called the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health, and was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Layla has been recognized on the Outstanding 100 LGBTQ+ Executives Role Model List as a global role model driving LGBTQ+ inclusion in business. She features regularly in the media, from the Financial Times to BBC Question Time. Her latest book Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling: How LGBTQ+ people can thrive and succeed at work was published by Bloomsbury in May.

Lia Rye is a 20-year-old alternative rock artist based in Leeds. Her melodic vocals, insightful storytelling and blasting riffs captivate listeners and audiences alike. Having released her debut single ‘Novacaine’ at age 15, Rye has plenty of “ambition to burn”. Taking inspiration from the likes of YONAKA, Bloc Party and Royal Blood, Rye has established her exclusive sound with varied foundations. With the formation of a new band, Rye has expanded her musical soundscape and deepened her love for live music. During 2023, Rye and her band explored the Leeds gig circuit. With electrifying performances at venues such as Stylus, Hyde Park Book Club, Lending Room and Northern Guitars under her belt, Lia Rye is taking the next steps in her sonic journey in 2024.

As a young woman in the DJ scene, Lily Ann brings a fresh perspective and a unique style to her performances. Her journey from local venues to international stages is a testament to her talent, dedication, and the smiles she spreads wherever she goes.

Lisa Milton is Executive Publisher HQ Stories as well as sitting on the Exec Committee of HarperCollinsUK. She joined HarperCollins in 2015 after a decade as Managing Director of Orion Publishing where she was responsible for Orion, Orion Children’s, Gollancz and Weidenfeld & Nicolson, which was awarded Imprint of the Year at the 2015 Bookseller Industry Awards. Whilst there she published major bestsellers and award winning authors including Maeve Binchy, Ian Rankin, Gillian Flynn and Malala Yousafzai. Previously Lisa was Editorial Director at BCA, the UK’s biggest book club, and prior to this she had a successful career at Waterstones, where one of her most notable achievements was opening the flagship store in Piccadilly and winning the Bookshop of the Year Industry Award in 2000. Find her on Twitter @MsLisaMilton

Acclaimed stand-up comic & TV writer Meryl O’Rourke revels in her bitterness. She has delighted live comedy audiences and written some of the best gags on telly. “5 * * * * * As near perfect as you can find. Charming delivery keep the audience in no doubt they’ve just seen one of this year’s fringe highlights” – British Comedy Guide; “Ripe with comedy” – Observer. A regular support for Frankie Boyle, she also wrote on all series of New World Order, on the BAFTA winning Farewell To The Monarchy & the RTS winning Tour Of Scotland. She now writes with Daliso Chaponda on the BBC Audio Award nominated Citizen Of Nowhere & for BBC Radio’s News Quiz. She has won the Artsdepot/Tsitsit Fringe residency, the Betty & Peter Sitcom prize and a Young Vic Neighbourhood writers’ place, to write her first play “Thrown By Giants”, about the WW2 refugee women detained on the Isle Of Man. An in-demand MC, she has residencies at many established comedy clubs. South Londoner born and raised, she is mum to an 18 year old poet (“where did I go wrong?”) and a 67 year old indignant colonel masquerading as a 12 year old gamer.

Michael Donkor studied English at Wadham College, Oxford, and then undertook a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway. The Observer named him as one of 2018’s best debut authors for his novel Hold (4th Estate) and in 2019, he was longlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize, shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and selected by Scottish poet laureate Jackie Kay as one of the ten best writers in the UK. He has judged the Society of Authors Betty Trask Prize and he reviews for the Guardian, Independent, Times and TLS. His second novel, Grow Where They Fall, was published by Penguin in March 2024.

Monisha Rajesh, an author and journalist whose second book, Around the World in 80 Trains, won the National Geographic Travel Book of the year and was shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Award.

MUSIH TEDJI XAVIERE is a Cameroonian fiction writer based in the UK. Her debut novel, These Letters End in Tears, won the 2021 Pontas and JJ Bola Emerging Writers Prize. She is represented by the Pontas Literary and Film Agency.

Naomi Booth is the author of the short-story collection Animals at Night and the novels Sealed and Exit Management. Her work has been listed for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, included in the Guardian’s Best Fiction of the year 2020, and shortlisted for the Edgehill Prize. Her story, ‘Sour Hall’, was adapted into an Audible Originals drama series. Naomi was born in Bradford and grew up in West Yorkshire. She now lives in York and teaches at the University of Durham.

“London-based Olumide Popoola is a Nigerian-German writer. Her publications include essays, poetry, hybrid and experimental texts, a novella, a play text, a short story collection, as well as recordings in collaboration with musicians. Olumide has a PhD in Creative Writing and has lectured in creative writing at various universities. Olumide presents internationally as author, speaker and facilitator. Keen to nurture the next generation of LGBTQ+ writers she created the Arts Council England funded mentoring and creative writing scheme for emerging LGBTQ+ writers, The Future is Back. Her critically acclaimed novel When We Speak of Nothing was published by Cassava Republic Press in 2017. Like Water Like Sea is her second full-length novel. “

P Burton-Morgan is a non-binary writer & director based in rural Somerset. In 2005 they founded touring theatre company Metta Theatre for which they have written/directed over 40 productions including Sherlock Holmes and the PoisonWood (Watermill), In the Willows (UK Tour), The Rhythmics (Southwark Playhouse). They won the 2020 WGGB award for musical theatre book-writing on In The Willows. Their verse play ‘You Lay Your Hand Backwards on My Heart’ was shortlisted for the Bolton Octagon Prize in 2016, and in 2022 they wrote a long-form narrative poem to accompany Handel’s Messiah in the West End. Their poetry has been published Propel Magazine and anthologized by Arachne press. In 2023 they completed their debut novel O – A Queer Odyssey which is currently on submission with United Agents.

“Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan is a doctor, researcher and science communicator. She qualified in 2004 and has been an NHS Consultant in Sexual Health and HIV Medicine since 2012. Her clinical work, research and advocacy focus on improving health equity, particularly at the intersections of gender and ethnicity. She has held numerous national charity and policy positions and regularly works with patient organisations. Rageshri was named as a ‘Woman Changing the World’ on International Women’s Day in 2019 by iNews, for her work advocating for the needs of racially minoritised women in sexual health. Rageshri is an experienced science communicator for general and specialist audiences. She is an inaugural Wellcome Collection x Spread the Word awardee 2022 and has contributed an essay to No One Talks About This Stuff, edited by Kat Brown. Rageshri’s book Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silencing has just been published.

Rosie is the founder of Warp & Weft Productions, and co-founder of Feminist Book Society.

Sabeena Akhtar is a Writer/Editor and an Arts and Culture programmer working across a variety of literary festivals. She is the Festival Coordinator of Bare Lit, the UK’s principal festival celebrating remarkable writers in the diaspora, a co-founder of the Primadonna Festival which spotlights the work of women writers including through the Primadonna Prize for writing, and also co-founder of Bare Lit Kids, the UK’s first children’s festival showcasing the work of writers of colour. She is also Senior Programmer at the WOW Foundation, working on its London festival at the Southbank Centre and across its global programmes. A keen advocate for Partition commemoration, in 2017 she partook in the BBC’s coverage of the 70th anniversary of Indian independence and alongside her daughter, filmed a programme on the Partition of India for children. She has since been invited to discuss the subject on various media outlets. She has published a wide variety of work including editing Cut From The Same Cloth? an anthology by visibly Muslim women in Britain, Talking About Islamophobia published by Hachette, and is currently working on a novel. You can find Sabeena tweeting at @pocobookreader

Sairish Hussain is a Bradford based author. Her debut novel, The Family Tree, was published by HarperCollins and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, the Portico Prize and The Diverse Book Awards. It was also longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and winner of Calibre Audio’s ‘Hidden Gem’ Prize. Sairish was selected by Kei Miller as one of ten ‘unmissable writers working in the UK’ for the International Literature Showcase 2021. She was one of the finalists in the Women’s Prize & Good Housekeeping Futures Award, an initiative which celebrates the most promising emerging female authors today. Her second novel, Hidden Fires, was published in 2024.

Sara is an eco-feminist writer and publisher. She’s a longstanding Guardian Country Diarist, who also runs the independent publisher, Hazel Press. Hazel focuses on the environment, the realities of the climate crisis, feminism and the arts. It publishes short books of poetry, essays, journals and fictionalised explorations. The books are all printed in the UK using pioneering eco-print processes and materials, 100% recycled UK paper and vegetable-based inks. Titles are sold from the Hazel website and in select independent bookshops and galleries.

Sara Veal is a Happiness Facilitator trained by the Museum of Happiness, a not-for-profit that shares the science and art of happiness in playful and reflective ways. She leads projects and initiatives that contribute to happiness and connection at Uplift Games, the studio behind the most played experienced on Roblox, Adopt Me! 
Her journalism has appeared in The Guardian in Tanzania, the Phnom Penh Post and the Jakarta Post. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in Mslexia, the Mills & Boon blog, The Unedit and Dear Damsels, and her fiction has appeared in Lucent Dreaming and Snowflake Magazine.

Shona Abhyankar is an award-winning book publicist and one of the Primadonna founding members. She is associate director at ed public relations, a PR agency who specialise in fiction and non-fiction book campaigns, as well as publishing awards and events. Shona’s former roles include Head of Publicity at Penguin Random House and PR Lead for Amazon Publishing UK. She is a mentor for the Publishers Publicity Circle (PPC) and has won PPC awards for her work. Shona’s previous authors include Arianna Huffington, Abi Morgan and Sheryl Sandberg. Find her on Twitter @PublicityShona and on Instagram @shonaandotherstories.

Sinéad Gleeson’s essay collection Constellations: Reflections from Life won Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards and the Dalkey Literary Award for Emerging Writer. It shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Michel Déon Prize, and has been translated into several languages. She is the editor of four anthologies including The Art of the Glimpse and the award-winning The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers, and The Glass Shore: Short Stories. Sinéad has engaged in multi-disciplinary collaborations with artists and musicians, including commissions from The Wellcome Collection, the RHA Gallery, BBC, Rua Red Gallery and Frieze. She is co-editor with Kim Gordon of This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music. Her debut novel, Hagstone, is published in April 2024 by 4th Estate.

Sioned Wiliam is an award-winning producer with over 30 years’ experience in comedy, drama and light entertainment and has been nominated for a BAFTA several times, winning a Children’s BAFTA as executive producer of RHESTR NADOLIG WIL (S4C/Boomerang). She won a Special Contribution award at the 2022 Radio Drama Awards. She is currently writing her fourth novel for Y Lolfa.

We are an independent organization focused on creating, sharing and promoting queer voices within Suffolk and throughout the UK. Founded by University of Suffolk Alum, Charlie Brodie and Laura Ayers.

Sunny is a writer, novelist and public intellectual, and widely recognised as a champion for decolonisation and inclusion across all aspects of society. Her books include the highly acclaimed novel Hotel Arcadia and a study of Amitabh Bachchan for the BFI’s film star series. In 2017, she launched the celebrated Jhalak Prize for literature by writers of colour. She is also a founder of the Jhalak Foundation that is focused on a range of literary, artistic and literacy initiatives in the UK and beyond. Sunny was born in Varanasi, India. She read English and American Literature at Brandeis University in the USA before gaining a Masters in Spanish Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and a PhD from the Universitat de Barcelona. She lives in London. She has recently completed a collection of stories linked by the theme of war and is at work on a new novel and a non-fiction book about writing ethically.

Suzanne has both a personal & professional interest in improving disabled people’s access to culture, in particular live music, founding the charity Attitude is Everything in 2000 & being a Non-Exec Director of CIC Creative United. She was awarded an MBE for services to disabled people, music & the arts in 2013. But her life took an unexpected turn in March 2020 when she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. In December of the same year, she started her blog called ‘The Musings Of Spu’ which is all about being disabled & then receiving a cancer diagnosis. Earlier this year she contributed to ‘Someone’s Survival Guide – real stories & advice from Breast Cancer survivors. She is also an Honorary Fellow of Falmouth University. She has won several awards – Music Week’s Women In Music ‘Campaigner of the Year Award’, the Editor’s Choice ‘Access All Areas’ & Keychange’s ‘Inspiration Award.’ After being listed in Shaw Trust’s Disability Power 100 List for several year’s, she is now one of their judges.

Tracey is Chief Executive of NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB.  Prior to this she was CEO of Hospice UK and Dying Matters for six years and has a wide career covering engineering, management consultancy, public health, policing and education.  Tracey is also the Chair of Primadonna Festival and Prize CIO.

Winnie M Li is an author and activist. Her debut novel, DARK CHAPTER won The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize, was nominated for an Edgar Award, and translated into ten languages. She is currently adapting it for the screen. Her second novel Complicit explores #MeToo in the film industry and prompted an intense bidding war for US rights. A Harvard graduate, Winnie previously wrote for travel guide books, produced independent films, and programmed for film festivals. She has received grants from the Royal Society of Literature and the Arts Councils of England and Northern Ireland. Winnie is also Founder of Clear Lines, the UK’s first-ever festival addressing sexual assault and consent through the arts and discussion. Her PhD research at the London School of Economics explores media engagement by rape survivors as a form of activism. She has appeared on the BBC, Sky News, Channel 4, The Guardian, The Times, The Mail on Sunday, BBC Woman’s Hour, and TEDx London. Winnie has an honorary doctorate from the National University of Ireland in recognition of her writing and activism. She lives somewhere between London and Somerset, with her partner and toddler.

Jan Pulsford brings friends from the Woodbridge Ambient Music Festival to take over Primadonna. What is Ambient Music? Often described as ‘Music to quiet your thoughts’ and ‘Music that doesn’t get in the way’, it is mostly played on electronic devices and taps into the ambience and feeling of a place. Experience an immersive performance of the genre with Jan and the generative music of Brian Eno’s “Bloom”; the ‘ambient music for slow films’ of Silent Dinners; Improvisations from the Drips with words and music from a walk around Suffolk featuring Max Sebald’s “Rings of Saturn’’ plus a celebration of the Spirit of the River and beauty of the place we live. Come and relax and unwind …

Zee Y is a Yorkshire-based poet turned comedian who uses their own identity as a queer Muslim person of colour to bring humour into places that otherwise might be dark. When they’re not playing video games or trying to pet stray cats, you can often find them defending bad superhero movies from the 00s in the far corners of the internet.