Ben Aldridge is a bestselling author and international speaker known for his engaging work on resilience, mental health, Stoic philosophy, and the power of stepping beyond comfort zones.

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He is the author of How to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable, How to Control the Uncontrollable, Seriously Happy, and the Get Out of Your Comfort Zone cards. His work has been translated into 11 languages, featured on bestseller lists, and shortlisted for the 2025 Information Book Awards.

Drawing inspiration from ancient philosophy and modern psychology, Ben blends profound insights with practical tools, making complex ideas accessible, entertaining, and actionable.

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Ben's Story

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After experiencing debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, Ben chose an unconventional path to healing. He began a year-long journey of completing unusual and often uncomfortable challenges—from ice baths and public embarrassment to learning lockpicking, climbing mountains, running marathons, learning to solve the Rubik’s cube, walking barefoot in winter, receiving acupuncture as a way to face his phobia of needles, and walking a pet banana in public—a playful nod to the ancient Cynic philosopher Diogenes.

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This experimental approach was rooted in an ancient practice called askesis – a discipline of embracing voluntary discomfort to strengthen mental and emotional resilience.

His lived experience and philosophical lens laid the foundation for his books and speaking work, resonating with audiences seeking authenticity, growth, and psychological tools that work in real life.

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www.benaldridge.com

Nicholas Allan is the author/illustrator of over thirty children’s books. Nicholas is also The Isle of Wight Literary Festival Schools' Patron. Many of his books are bestsellers, including The Queen’s Knickers, Father Christmas Needs a Wee, Jesus’ Christmas Party, Cinderella’s Bum, Heaven, and Where Willy Went.

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His books have won awards and been translated into twenty languages.

www.nicholasallan.co.uk

P.G. Bell is a native of South Wales, where he was raised on a diet of Greek mythology, ghost stories and Doctor Who. Peter's had all sorts of jobs over the years, from lifeguard to roller-coaster operator, but has always wanted to write stories. He lives in Wales with his wife Anna and their two children. 

The Train to Impossible Places, P.G.'s debut series, has enjoyed widespread success, including shortlistings for the Branford Boase Award, the Crimefest Awards and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.

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www.pgbellwriter.com

Lil Chase is an author with 6 books written under her own name and countless others under various pseudonyms. She’s created everything from lift-the-flap board books, hilarious teenage dramas, to the whole history of human existence in just 48 pages. Her first book - Boys For Beginners - started its life as a novel, written in pencil, complete with drawings, when Lil was just 11. Lil lives in London with her family and their dog, Dougal.

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www.lilchase.com

Sam Copeland is an author, which has come as something of a surprise to him. He is from Manchester and now lives in London with two smelly cats, three smelly children and one relatively clean-smelling wife.

He is the author of the bestselling Charlie Changes Into a Chicken series (the first book of which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize), Uma and the Answer to Absolutely Everything and Greta and the Ghost Hunters. With Jenny Pearson, he has also written Tuchus & Topps Investigate: The Underpants of Chaos and Tuchus & Topps Investigate: The Attack of the Robot Librarians.

Despite legal threats, he refuses to stop writing.

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www.sam-copeland.com

175 years ago, Charles Dickens and his family spent three summer months on the Isle of Wight. While here, he was writing chapters of David Copperfield - his most autobiographical of novels. 

Ian Charles Dickens is a great-great grandson (and an Island resident) and has been bringing his illustrated talk on the rags to riches tale of Dickens’s life, to numerous Primary school classes across this anniversary year. 

Author and poet John Dougherty has been writing children’s books for over twenty years. His work ranges quite literally from the sublime to the ridiculous, including as it does the hilarious and surreal Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face series and There’s a Pig Up My Nose, and the beautiful and multi-award winning The Hare-Shaped Hole and its companion title The Bear-Shaped Hole. His books have been translated into more than 25 languages worldwide. 

A former teacher, John was one of the first Patrons of Reading in the UK and is a passionate advocate for both public libraries and the importance of reading for pleasure. Born in Northern Ireland, he now lives in Gloucestershire with his wife Jennie. 

Annelise Gray is the author of the Circus Maximus series, a quartet of historical adventures about the quest of a young, horse-mad Roman girl to break into the cutthroat world of Roman chariot racing. Her latest book, The Odyssey of Phoebe Quilliam, is inspired by Greek myth and tells the story of a girl swept away by strange magic into the world of the legendary hero Odysseus, where she is forced to battle terrifying monsters and fight her own demons in order to find her way home. Annelise was born in Bermuda and now lives in Dorset.

She has a PhD in Classics and has worked as a teacher and a historical researcher for authors and TV companies on topics as varied as Helen of Troy and the history of Labradors.

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www.annelisegray.co.uk

Captain Rob Johnson is a commercial airline training captain with over 30 years of flying experience, working for a major international airline for the past 25 years. He’s travelled to all four corners of the world—and has turned those adventures into fun, educational stories for children.

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In 2015, Rob partnered with Mike Midgen to turn those tales into The Amazing Adventures of Pilot Ollie and Pilot Polly—a children’s book series that inspired curiosity and a love of learning. Originally written to share his flying experiences with his own children, the stories follow the adventures of two globetrotting pilots as they explore famous landmarks, different types of weather, international flags, foods, and cultures.

In 2020, they expanded the concept into Let’s Go See, an animated educational series designed for Key Stage 1 (ages 3–6). Featuring engaging characters, global adventures, and curriculum-based content—including music, dance, and interactive activities—Let’s Go See offers cross-discipline learning and social-emotional development. Today, it continues to entertain, educate, and inspire young minds to discover the wonders of the world.

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www.planecharactersproductions.com

Gareth P. Jones has been a children's author since 2007, when the first book of his Dragon Detective series was published.

Since then, he has published 50+ books. He won the Blue Peter Book of the Year in 2012 for The Considine Curse. His other novels include The Thornthwaite Inheritance, Constable & Toop & Death or Ice Cream? He has written series about Ninja Meerkats, Steampunk Pirates, Pet Defenders.

His most recent series is Solve Your Own Mystery, in which you the reader get to decide what happens next. His picture books include Rabunzel, CinderGorilla, Snowy White & his most recent contribution the world of literature... There's Nothing funny about BUMS!  Gareth is also a performer, musician and composer. He has currently turned three of his picture books into mini musicals, which he performs in music festivals, schools, libraries and sometimes just under trees. 

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www.garethwrites.co.uk

Philip grew up in Athens, fell in love in Dublin and built a home in Windsor. He writes constantly: stories, screenplays, sketches, poems.

As an engineer, he works in sustainability for one of the biggest brands in the world, and, as a Scout leader, he takes kids on real-life adventures. But most of all, Philip loves dinner with his family and snuggling for a movie.

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www.philipkavvadias.com

The Right Honourable Stuart Lawrence is a consultant, youth engagement specialist, coach and public speaker. He is also the younger brother of Stephen Lawrence, the British teenager murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1993.

Stuart has worked in graphics and design and has had a 15-year career as a secondary school teacher in southwest London. He has also worked for the Home Office and HMP Belmarsh.

Silence is Not an Option is Stuart’s first book (for readers aged 10 +) and is interspersed with reflections on his bother Stephen’s life and murder. Stuart talks about what he has learned from life and the tools that have helped him live positively and kept him moving forwards when times have been tough. From role models to self-control, failure to imagination, Stuart’s aim with this book is to use his own experience to help young people – to help all people – harness the good in themselves and in the world around them, using that fire of positivity to create change in their lives.

Stuart campaigns for racism awareness and devotes time to the promotion of Stephen Lawrence Day, on 22 April annually.

www.stuartalawrence.co.uk

Born in Chichester and now based on the south coast with his family, multi award-winning author and Illustrator Neal Layton works on a plethora of publications for children from his treasure filled studio on the Isle of Wight. 

A former student at Newcastle and Central St Martins, Neal has become an avid collector and compulsive scribbler, deftly combining a multitude of styles and techniques in colour and black and white, from pen and ink to collage and digital methods creating fresh and spontaneous illustrations for both fiction, non-fiction and novelty books.

With a clutch of awards under his belt including the prestigious Sheffield Children’s Book Prize Neal has been lucky enough to collaborate with some of the country’s best loved authors including Cressida Cowell, Andy Stanton and Michael Rosen. Neal is extremely passionate about conservation and inclusivity and this shines through in many of his recent author illustrated publications.

Well versed in discussing and demonstrating his work Neal is available for a variety of events from schools and bookshops to large scale festivals and conferences. You can find Neal on Instagram and Twitter for insightful sneak peeks, reviews and regular updates on new projects. 

The Tree. Home to a family of birds in their nest, squirrels in their drey and rabbits in their burrow. But what happens to the animals when a man and woman decide to cut it down and use it for their dream house? Can the tree be home to both the animals and the humans? A simple yet fun and distinctive picture book, with a strong environmental message about the importance of respecting animal habitats.

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www.neallayton.co.uk

Anthony McGowan has written highly acclaimed and award-winning fiction and non-fiction for adults, teenagers and younger children. His work includes the adult thrillers Stag Hunt and Mortal Coil, and the YA novels Hellbent, Henry Tumour, The Knife That Killed Me (filmed in 2014), Hello Darkness, and the four novellas that make up The Truth of Things, including Rook, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie medal in 2018, and Lark, which won the Carnegie in 2020. His latest books are How to Teach Philosophy to Your Dog (2019), I Am the Minotaur (2021) How to Teach Economics to Your Dog (2022, with Rebecca Campbell), Dogs of the Deadlands (2022), and The Beck (2025). 

Anthony has taught creative writing courses at London Metropolitan University, Royal Holloway, University of London, and the Faber Academy. He has a BA and M.Phil. from Manchester University, and received a full-time Arts Studentship at the Open University, from 1991-95, leading to a PhD on the history of the concept of beauty in literature and philosophy. 

I have always loved reading and I studied English at university just so that I could read a bit more.  Next I found my way into secondary teaching and discovered that I loved it too: I got to read more books, show off and hang out with very funny teenagers.  What a great job!

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Teaching English also encouraged me to write.  Soon I had planned and started lots of different stories, but they were all abandoned and shoved to the back of a drawer.  Then, one day, the plot for Flirty Dancing came together; Bea’s story was so alive it was like a film running in my head and I knew it was a story I would finish.

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Over the next few years, various exciting events distracted me from Flirty Dancing: I got married, travelled the world, was chased by an angry elephant (and a pack of dogs) and I had two babies.  While I was sitting on trains, swimming in the Outback and raising two crazy girls, I kept thinking about Bea, and her friends, Betty, Kat and Pearl, until I realised I had planned three more books.

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In 2013, after attending the Winchester Writers’ Festival, I plucked up the courage to send Flirty Dancing to Julia Churchill, a brilliant children’s fiction agent at A.M. Heath.  With dazzling speed I was then signed by Bloomsbury to write the four books in the series.

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www.jennymclachlan.com

Peter J Murray was born in 1951 and brought up on a council estate in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. He left school with few qualifications, feeling ill-suited to an academic lifestyle, and followed in the family tradition of working in the hazardous steel works of Sheffield. What happened over the next 30 years is an amazing story...

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Peter has always been a story-teller and a practical joker. Entertaining pupils with stories of spooky characters and unusual happenings was the ideal breeding ground for the creation of many of the characters who appear in Pete's current novels.

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www.peterjmurray.co.uk

Zohra was born in 1998, and grew up inventing stories for her two younger sisters. She studied law at Cambridge and Oxford universities, but secretly dreamed of being an author. Now she lives in London, browsing bookshops and writing magical adventures. The Kingdom Over the Sea is her first book.

Andy Stanton lives in North London. He studied English at Oxford but they kicked him out. He has been a film script reader, a cartoonist, an NHS lackey and lots of other things. He has many interests, but best of all he likes cartoons, books and music (even jazz).

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One day he’d like to live in New York or Berlin or one of those places because he’s got fantasies of bohemia. His favourite expression is ‘Good evening’ and his favourite word is ‘captain’. Andy has now written more than one book, but less than twenty.

Mr Gum is a truly nasty old man. He’s absolutely grimsters. But this book’s not just about him. There’s also a little girl called Polly, an absolute winner called Friday O’Leary, an evil butcher, heroes and sweets and stuff, and a furry wobbler of a dog called Jake WHO MUST BE SAVED FROM TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE EVIL. Oh yes, it’s all happening in this book.

www.mrgum.co.uk

Christopher Stevens began telling stories to his children and their friends more that 25 years ago and is never more complimented than when they are retold to him by these ‘children’, now in their twenties. His sense of adventure combined with this interest in history and passion for storytelling have culminated in him writing his children’s novels, The Pirate Queen and Half-Plucked Chicken and The Lost Uncle and the Elixir of Life. Chris lives in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. 

Chris will be sharing The Lost Uncle and the Elixir of Life- When they stumble across a one-hundred-year-old journal detailing the disappearance of their Uncle Cecil, the Baldwin family set off for Sri Lanka in search of the truth. Has he gone in search of the butterfly flower with its magical healing powers? As the trail goes cold, so fate lends a helping hand, and what they discover is a land beyond their wildest dreams. But when things go horribly wrong, Charlie and Lizzie need to draw on all their courage; the fate of an entire civilization lies in their hands!

Comic writer and artist Kev F Sutherland's work has appeared everywhere from Beano to Marvel (and most points inbetween). 

He began his career working on the kids comic Oink! and with strips in Viz. He was a leading light of the 90s humour comics scene, working for Gas, The Damage, Zit, Blag and others, and creating and editing UT and Bloody Hell. He devised and drew The Gladiators TV spin off comic, then worked on such titles as Red Dwarf Smegazine and Zig & Zag's Zogazine.

For Marvel he worked as an artist on Doctor Strange, Star Trek, Ghost Rider 2099, and Apocalypse 2099, and wrote Werewolf By Night. From 1999 - 2004 he was the producer of the UK's Comic Festival in Bristol.

Since 2003 he has been a regular contributor, both writing and drawing, for Beano comic and the Beano and Dandy annuals, and has adapted a series of stories for Bible Society.

His debut graphic novels, Findlay Macbeth, The Prince Of Denmark Street, and The Midsummer Night's Dream Team were published in 2020.

www.kevfcomicartist.com

Yarrow Townsend spent her childhood among the moss, oak and heather of the New Forest. After working as a teacher, and then as a stablehand, Yarrow completed an MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, before returning to the forest to work for the RSPB. Always in search of ways to be closer to the outdoors, Yarrow now lives on a narrowboat, travelling the canals with her garden on the roof. The Map of Leaves is inspired by her life by the woods and the water, and by her own parents’ herb books.

In her publication The Map of Leaves, Orla has been on her own since Ma died, living in a woodshed by the river, with only her beloved garden for company.

It provides all she needs. But when sickness come to the land, Governor Atlas decrees that plants are the cause, and must be destroyed. 

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Armed with her mother's book of remedies, Orla steals away on a river boat, setting off to discover the truth and save her garden. But she's not the only stowaway. Soon she, Idris and Ariana must navigate the rapids of the Inkwater to a poisonous place from which they may never return....

Monique was born and raised in the cold north of England on a diet of strong brews and thick gravy.

Whilst growing up, she struggled to find her place in the world, so she vowed to create stories where those who don’t fit in can finally feel like they belong. When T.M. Turner isn’t writing, she can be found roaming the southern coast.

Holly Webb lives in Reading, England with her husband, three children, and two demanding cats. She started writing twenty-two years ago while working as a children's book editor. She now writes full-time, and has written over a hundred and seventy books, which have been translated into thirty-three languages. Her most recent titles are The Summer Puppy, The Woodland Badger and The Guinea-Pig Party.

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www.holly-webb.com