Malorie Blackman
Malorie has written over 60 books for children and young adults, including the Noughts and Crosses series, Thief and most recently her science fiction thriller Chasing the Stars, Her work has also been adapted for TV with the 6 part adaptation of Pig-Heart Boy winning a BAFTA and Noughts and Crosses is currently in production for the BBC. In 2005, Malorie was honoured the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children’s books. In 2008, she was awarded OBE and between 2013 and 2015 she was the Children’s Laureate.
Sabrina Mahfouz
Sabrina has recently been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and is the recipient of the 2018 King's Alumni Arts & Culture Award. She has been shortlisted for The Stage Award for Best Solo Performance, a Women in the Creative Industries Award, an Arts Foundation Award for Performance Poetry and has won a Sky Arts Academy Award for Poetry, a Westminster Prize for New Playwrights and a Fringe First Award. She also writes for children and her play Zeraffa Giraffa won a 2018 Off West End Award.
Sabrina is the editor of The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write, a 2017 Guardian Book of the Year and currently nominated for The People's Book Prize. She is an essay contributor to the multi-award-winning The Good Immigrant and is currently writing a biopic of the legendary ‘Godfather of Grime’, rapper and producer Wiley, for Pulse Films
Esther Richardson
Esther is the Artistic Director of Pilot Theatre. She has directed over 25 theatre productions in the UK, including her most recent production of Brighton Rock, adapted by Bryony Lavery. Esther was the founding Artistic Director of Theatre Writing Partnership - a new writing development company based in Nottingham UK (funded by the Lottery and ACE from 2001 to 2012). The company was nominated for the prestigious Stage/TMA’s Special Achievement in Regional Theatre Award when Esther was running the company in 2006. Her film work includes two successful shorts, which led her to be selected for Creative England’s ifeatures scheme in 2012/13.
Heather Agyepong’s theatre credits include Girls (Talawa Theatre, High Tide & Martha Rose Wilson Prod.); So Many Reasons (Fuel Theatre & Ovalhouse Theatre) and Sankara (Next Up Talent; National Theatre Studio). Heather is an acclaimed visual artist, actor and maker. Earlier this year she was nominated for the 2018 South Bank Sky Arts Breakthrough Award.
Billy Harris’ theatre credits include Boots On The Ground (Tangled Feet) and 13 (Tobacco Factory Theatre).
Doreene Blackstock’s theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s Globe; Cymbeline and Hamlet, and RSC.
Jack Condon’s theatre credits include East, King’s Head Theatre and Last Man Standing, and Theatre N16.
Daniel Copeland’s theatre credits include Invincible, Orange Tree Theatre and The Jungle Book, and Leeds Playhouse.
Lisa Howard’s theatre credits include They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay, Northern Broadsides and Flood, Slung Low and Hull City of Culture 2017.
Chris Jack’s theatre credits include Brighton Rock, Pilot Theatre and York Theatre Royal and Our Town, and Royal Exchange Manchester.
Kimisha Lewish’s theatre credits include Last Dream (on earth), National Theatre of Scotland and Send: A game of textual tennis, and Lyric Hammersmith.