GLOSSOP BOOKFEST 2024
Meet the Writers
Dominic Berry
Dominic Berry is an award-winning poet.
At this years BookFest Dominic will be doing poetry shows for both Children and Adults
An event not to be be missed
Find out more about Dominic by visiting our dedicated page here
Johanne Lee
I’m newly published and learning as I go . Aiming with my poetry and picture books to raise awareness. Belief is everything so my first story Dream Big Little One encourages early years children to believe in themselves
More information and links
Julia Robinson
Julia Robinson breathtakingly explores the inner world as she travels through the outer. After living in many countries she is based now near her childhood home and settling in Glossop. She is fascinated by aliveness and being able to hold both light and shadow, so to live more fully.
More information and links
She has a quartet of books called “On Intimacy, Bringing Back the Gods” which delves into that space within, with others and also with That which is more than us. It has been declared by many readers as life changing; “The conversation we would all like to have over a cuppa with our friends but were too afraid to ask”. “A massive gossip”. “A parallel world that brought me back to life”.
Julia continued on to draw and write a series of illustrated journeys around common themes she has encountered in her practise as a psychotherapist, including topics such as perfectionism, judgement, the essence of being, forgiveness and making choices in life.
Finally, Julia unravels her creativity in two poetry books, about the “Here Now” and the wonderful and terrifying journey through and into love.
For more info please see:
www.intenselypersonal.com
Keli Tomlin
Keli writes “stories and non-fiction inspired by hills, moors and trees; the wildness of my back garden; being a mother and climate-conscious human; folk traditions and pagan spirituality.” She is the author of ‘Walk the Wheel’, a collection of original tales inspired by the turning of the seasonal Wheel of the Year, beautifully illustrated by Michelle Shore.
More information and links
She is one of 12 authors published in an independent anthology of nature writing, by women and non-binary people, called ‘Intrinsic’ published by Creative Countryside and is 2025’s Festival Writer for the Earth Pathways Collective. Keli has a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University and a lifetime of writing behind and before her.
Gwyneth Francis
Gwyneth Francis is a local historian who has written ‘Rebels Way’, a story for young people in the 11-15 age range , based on the Derbyshire uprising of 1817 known as the Pentrich Rising or the Pentrich Rebellion.
More information and links
Many of the characters in the story are real, the central character is the fictional thirteen year old Meg Corvan and her itinerant ballad-singing grandfather. Together, they travel through the depressed areas of Derbyshire and Lancashire, witnessing the escalation of the national uprising which was ultimately betrayed by the notorious government spy, Oliver.
Her life-long interest in history was sparked by the children’s historical novels of Geoffrey Trease in the 1960’s, and the author is keen to see a revival of historical fiction for children and young people.
Tony Read
Tony Read is a retired Principal Crown Prosecutor with over 35 years experience working in criminal law.
More information and links
Tony started writing while still at grammar school. His passion is crime fiction. To date he has written nine full length detective novels. To a greater or lesser extent all of these novels are set within the stunning scenery of the Peak District National Park
His latest book Rage and Retribution is available via
and
Janet Lees
Janet is a writer, blogger and podcaster. Her most recent book ‘Come Wind, Come Weather’ is about walking the length of Britain.
Liam Devonport
More information and links
Liam is the author of Amazon’s #1 New Release, Zenith: The Science, History and Mythology of the Northern Lights. His much anticipated second book, Punching Above Your Weight: The Untold Story of the Martial Arts, effortlessly combines many years of martial arts experience and research.
Liams books are available via Amazon
Scott Fellows
Scott Fellows is an award winning poet whose poetry has been published in many magazines and anthologies. He has also had a regular reading slot on BBC Radio Manchester and All fm, UBC and Tameside Radio.
More information and links
Scott retired as an OFSTED inspector with responsibility for English after a successful teaching career. He remained as a counsellor and was a Chaplain in Manchester College of FE for some years. He has travelled widely and taught in France and Egypt. He holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and an MA in Creative Writing, both from Manchester Metropolitan University.
‘Collated for Cancer Research, these wryly observed poems from Scott Fellows will take you on a journey from Egypt to Edale, with a snack-stop at the Fridge for frozen peas! Always entertaining, sometimes poignant, Fellows uses witty wordplay and skilful use of rhyme to engage the audience. Be prepared to chuckle, to be surprised – and keep coming back for more!’
VICTORIA GATEHOUSE
“No surprise that Scott Fellows’s new collection is a delight. I travelled in my reunion with the poems I’d heard and in meeting new ones. Each one has a twist that raises chuckles, or saddens you, or makes you think…or does all three. Read savour and enjoy!’
MARK HENDERSON
Karma Francomb
More information and links
Kadrinchay (thank you), is the story of Karma, a young girl from Bhutan, who despite setbacks is thankful for what she has in life. Her childhood home isn’t luxurious, but she has the love and support of a wonderful family. After becoming pregnant, she loses her dream of going to university, but is thankful that she gives birth to a son. Karma finds that because she does not go to university, her life leads her through experiences, some upsetting and some exciting, that will ultimately lead her to a future that she could never have predicted
Lindy Newns
Lindy Newns hosts “We’re Still Here” and also the “Poetry Slam for children “
Lindy has been shortlisted for several playwriting awards and poetry competitions and has won the Fresher prize for poetry.
More information and links
Her poetry and flash fiction has appeared in Orbis, Acumen, Riggwelter, L’Ephemere, Popshot, and various anthologies including Poems for Grenfell Tower. She is an experienced writing workshop leader, regularly running poetry and flash fiction workshops, including one in April 2023 as part of Machynlleth Literature Festival.
Neil Studd
Neil has resided in the Glossop area for the past six years, and is perhaps best known as the co-host of the local meetup group Shut Up & Write!, which meets in the Pico Lounge every Tuesday evening as a quiet place for authors to work on their projects.
More information and links
He is the author of the young adult fantasy series The Sleepy Agency: his first novel, The Dreamlinkers, is available now, with the sequel The Nightmare Prospect due for release in January 2025.
By day, Neil is a professional coach, and is the author of the title Finding Mojovation: How To Create Contentment in Your Work and Personal Life.
Links:
The Sleep Agency series – https://www.thesleepagency.co.uk/
Finding Mojovation – https://leanpub.com/mojovation
Shut Up & Write! Glossop – https://www.meetup.com/shutupandwriteglossop/
Steven Morris
Steven Morris has been writing on and off since childhood. Over the years his efforts have ranged from leaving love notes in schoolgirl’s coat pockets (don’t worry, he was a schoolboy himself at the time) to almost having a sit-com script accepted by the BBC. If only everyone who read the script hadn’t said, “Dear lord no,” he probably would have made it.
More information and links
After writing a succession of short stories and having a few scripts performed on the radio, Steven eventually decided to write his first book, and, “Sex, Lies and Chocolate Cakes,” was eventually born.
Over the years Steven’s dubious awards include being voted the baldest boy at school, and the man least likely to find a date on Plenty of Fish.
Steven has just completed his second book, “Lust, Lies and Lemon Drizzle,” and is working on his third.
Margaret Jones
Margaret C. Jones is known for her biographies of remarkable women, from an Anglo-Saxon princess to a Black female spy in the American Civil War. Her autobiographical pieces have appeared in Christian Science Monitor, Red Pepper and The Spark.
More information and links
She has also ghost-written two personal memoirs. Her illustrated talks to audiences in the UK and the United States have been called ‘fascinating’ and ‘stimulating’.
‘Writing the Life’ Biography Writing Workshop
Margaret Jone is running a workshop in the Community Lounge at 1.45. She will be sharing helpful tips about writing biographies, including choosing your subject, tracing sources, and crafting stories. Though the main focus will be on third-person narrative,
Come and unleash your creativity and share your life story with others!
The Glossop BookFest team are authors in their own right
Mark P Henderson
After a career in medicine and university teaching, Mark P. Henderson retired to North Derbyshire in 2002 and started to write fiction, edit manuscripts, teach creative writing, and collect and tell Peak District folktales.
More information and links
His publications, through five different publishing houses, comprise an anthology of short stories (Rope Trick, 2008), a novel (Perilaus, 2009), a children’s story (Fenella and the Magic Mirror, 2009), a study of the evolution of a local legend (Murders in the Winnats Pass, 2010), a collection of 62 traditional stories (Folktales of the Peak District, 2011), a collection of puns in verse and prose (Cruel and Unusual PunNishments, 2016), a one-act play (Forget it, it’s History, 2017), five more novels (National Cake Day in Ruritania, 2018; The Engklimastat, 2019; Perilaus II, 2021; Con, 2022; Black Harry, 2023), a novelette (The Definitive Biography of St Arborius of Glossopdale and his Thin Dog, 2019), and a novella (The Cat of Doom, 2020). His compilation of folktale films recorded in situ in collaboration with Tim Knebel of “Peak in the Past” and his colleagues (http://www.peakinthepast.co.uk; scroll down to “Folktales”), is available for free download and the set is due for completion in 2023. A second collection, Elusive Tales of the Peak District, was published in September 2023, and Mark is currently working on a seventh novel.
For further details see:
www.markphenderson.co.uk
Andy Millican
Open Mic organiser/host,
Author, Poet & Occasional Stand-Up Comic
My 50 year journey on the road to poetry started with my tribute to Bobby Charlton in 1973 which my mother sent to him! He sent me in return a beautiful letter on Preston North End headed paper which I still have today!
More information and links
I have had poems broadcast on the BBC. I have won competitions (most recently 2023) and been placed in many more including international open competitions (most recently 2022).
I have written poems for Ekphrastic collaboration events particularly with Stockport Art Guild and artist Mark Sheeky where their paintings/my poems were featured in exhibitions. My first collection Nebulous, published in 2019 raised over £500 for Liverpool Eye Cancer Unit.
In 2018 I was invited to write perform and record a series of new poems for the Lest We Forget website, a Hollingworth Lottery funded project.
My second collection Something Wicked This Way Grows (2023) is a collection written about events and characters on allotments. The title poem was published by the National Allotment Society in their Coronation edition summer 2023.
Occasionally I write short stories. My latest Of the Time featured in Tales from the Underbanks, an Arts England / Stockport Borough Council joint venture in 2022.
I compare/host Glossop Open Mic at Glossop Labour Club as well as performing regularly at open mic events in and around Manchester and Derbyshire. Occasionally I am apt to perform some stand-up comedy too.
More information and links
‘The Life Coach Less Travelled’, ‘Blue Is the Object’ and the ‘Stalkbook’series, as well as poetry and non-fiction. Find out more at
Andrew Dutton
Andrew Dutton has been writing since the early 2000s and in 2012 self-published an e-book of short stories, A Mirror.
His work frequently explores life at ‘the bottom of the pile’, reflecting a long career helping people in financial hardship and debt.
Born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, he now lives in Derbyshire and draws inspiration and comfort from books, music, cats — and long country walks with his partner and their beloved Labrador.
More information and links
Andrew’s debut novel, ‘Nocturne: Wayman’s Sky’, and second novel,’ The Crossword Solver’ were published by Cinnamon Press in 2020 and 2021.
His third novel, ‘The Beauty of Chell Street’ was published by Cinnamon on 25/9/22.
2023 will see the publication of ‘My Life In Receipts’ (Spring) and ‘Natasha: Redacted’ (Winter).
Andrew is working on a new novel and there are two short story collections waiting in the wings.
Links