London native C.C. Adams is the horror/dark fiction author behind books such as But Worse Will Come, Forfeit Tissue and Downwind, Alice. A member of the Horror Writers Association, he still lives in the capital. This is where he lifts weights, cooks - and looks for the perfect quote to set off the next dark delicacy. Visit him at www.ccadams.com, or on Twitter/X - @MrAdamsWrites
Author picture courtesy of Clem Onojeghuo at www.clemono.com
Dr Charlotte Baker is an author and associate lecturer, with an interest in crime, horror and dark romance. She has nearly 80 publications, ranging from micro fiction to novels to academic articles. Charlotte enjoys spending time with her little boy, drinking coffee, walking, and conversing with the various monsters that float around her imagination.
Essie Fox grew up in Herefordshire, and now lives in Windsor. She studied English Literature at Sheffield University and worked in publishing and commercial design before she started writing. She has lectured on the history and inspiration behind her novels at the V&A, the National Gallery, and Westminster Library, as well as appearing at many festivals and literary events. She is the author of The Fascination, The Somnambulist, Elijah’s Mermaid and more.
Sara Gran is the author of The Book of The Most Precious Substance. Previous work includes Saturn's Return to New York, Come Closer, Dope, Marigold, and the Claire DeWitt series. She is the founder of small press Dreamland Books and writes for television and film.
Photo credit: Deborah Lopez
Helen Grant is a lifelong fan of the classic ghost story writer Montague Rhodes James. She has contributed to the Ghosts & Scholars Newsletter many times, and spoken at two M.R.James conferences. She has also visited most of his foreign story locations, including St. Bertrand de Comminges and Steinfeld. In this illustrated talk, Helen shares her experiences of visiting these places, examining the ways in which real places inspired MRJ’s work. What does visiting the cathedral at Comminges tell us about “Canon Alberic’s Scrap-book”? How and why does the description of Steinfeld in “The Treasure of Abbot Thomas” differ so startlingly from reality? And is there anything of “Number 13” to be found in modern Viborg? Hear the answers to these questions, and more.
Helen’s published work includes The Glass Demon (2010), inspired by “The Treasure of Abbot Thomas” and more recently the Dracula Society's Children of the Night Award winning Too Near The Dead (2021) and Jump Cut (2023), about a notorious lost movie.
Penny Jones knew she was a writer when she started to talk about herself in the third person (her family knew when Santa bought her a typewriter for Christmas when she was three). Penny’s debut collection “Suffer Little Children” published by Black Shuck Books was shortlisted for the 2020 British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer, and her short story “Dendrochronology” published by Hersham Horror was shortlisted for the 2020 British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story. Her novella “Matryoshka” published by Hersham Horror was shortlisted for the 2022 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella. And her second collection “Behind a Broken Smile” published by Black Shuck Books was shortlisted for the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Best Collection.
She loves reading and will read pretty much anything you put in front of her, but her favourite authors are Stephen King, Shirley Jackson and John Wyndham. In fact Penny only got into writing to buy books, when she realised that there wasn’t that much money in writing she stayed for the cake. You can find Penny at www.penny-jones.com
T. Kingfisher is the vaguely absurd pen name author Ursula Vernon uses when writing for adults. In another life, she writes children's books and weird comics. As Kingfisher, she has won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus and Dragon Awards, including the Hugo for Best Novel for her book Nettle & Bone. When she is not writing, she is probably out in the garden, trying to make eye contact with butterflies.
Carly Reagon is the author of two ghost stories, The Toll House and Hear Him Calling published by LIttle, Brown UK. Her writing is inspired by her love of history, fascination with the paranormal, and the Welsh countryside where she lives.
Leonie Rowland is a therapeutic writing practitioner and meditation teacher with an unexpected background in Gothic literature. She is the author of In Bed with Melon Bread (2021) and This Time of Life is Meant for Savages (2023). Leonie was a postgraduate with the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies at MMU and, several lifetimes ago, the Co-Director of Grimmfest and the Editor-in-Chief of The Hungry Ghost Project. She is currently friends with most of her ghosts.
Angela Slatter (also writing as A.G. Slatter) is the author of the gothic fantasy novels All the Murmuring Bones and forthcoming The Path of Thorns (Titan Books), and the supernatural crime novels Vigil, Corpselight and Restoration (Jo Fletcher Books). She’s also written eleven short story collections, including The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales, Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, and A Feast of Sorrows: Stories, and the novellas, Of Sorrow and Such and Ripper.
Photo credit Leah Desborough
After a number of years working for BBC Manchester then in London and Athens doing illustration, Ashley Thorpe returned to his Devon roots in 2005 and focused all his energies upon creating a series of animated short films inspired by English mythology - 'SCAYRECROW' 2008 (winner of the Media Innovation Award 2009), 'THE SCREAMING SKULL' 2008 (nominated Best UK Short film at Raindance 2009) and 'THE HAIRY HANDS' 2010 (A SWS / UK Film Council project featuring VO by Doug Bradley).
His first feature 'BORLEY RECTORY' (a Carrion Film / Glass Eye Pix co-venture) with Reece Shearsmith & Julian Sands was completed late 2017 and premiered at GRIMMFEST, Manchester. In Nov 17 it won 'Best Animated Feature' at Buffalo Dreams Festival New York and a 'Special Achievement in Cinema' accolade. After being released on Blu Ray in 2019 the film is now streaming on Netflix, Prime and Talking Pictures.
As a freelance animator Ashley has provided animated titles / sequences for such varied projects as the multi award winning 'WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED', Saturn award winning 'TALES OF HALLOWEEN', Dominic Brunt's 'WOLF MANOR and titles and various graphics for Danny Robins hit BBC show 'UNCANNY'.
