Our Honoured Guests

Jodi Taylor

​It's an honour and a privilege to introduce the undoubted star of our show - the inimitable Jodi Taylor, author of the best-selling Chronicles of St Mary's, The Time Police, Frogmorton Farm, and Elizabeth Cage series's, as well as the regency romance, "A Bachelor Establishment". After cornering her at another Convention (DWCon ahem), we managed to convince her that having her own Convention was a great idea...and after we stopped attempting to strong-arm her, she became quite enthusiastic, lending her support to the process all the way through.   

Jodi has only been an author for about 10 years, after stints as a hotelier and a local government official in facilities management. Yet, her delightful style, creativity, imagination, and sense of humour shines through in her books, garnering her an ever growing following of avid readers. But enough from us. We'll let her tell you more, as you'll have plenty of chances to meet her, hear her, and enjoy her tales of derring-do at the Convention.
​


​

Jasper Fforde

Also joining us will be Jasper Fforde, acclaimed author, wordsmith and aviator - renowned for his eclectic literary allusions and fantastic parodies. Jasper began his career in the film industry, and for nineteen years held a variety of posts on some very illustrious movies! Yet, he covertly harboured a desire to tell his own stories, rather than helping others tell theirs. So, he started secretly writing a string of novels, spending the next eleven years honing his craft, and finding his own style somewhere between the warring factions of literary and absurd. After receiving 76 letters of rejection from publishers, finally his first novel, "The Eyre Affair", was published in 2001, meaning he has officially been authoring for over 20 years now!

Jasper  has an enthusiastic following for his Thursday Next series, as well as his police procedural parodies. He's an old hand at "Conventions", as he has his own Fforde Ffiesta gathering, and we believe he'll add some lively debate and whimsy to our panels and talks. Further, he'll be available for signings over the course of the weekend. ​

Hazel Cushion

We are also proud to host the lovely Hazel Cushion, Jodi's agent, friend and erstwhile publisher. Hazel is a published author in her own right, her books first appearing after completing a masters in Creative Writing. She realised she'd rather be a publisher than an author, though,  and started a small publishing business from home. Accent Press has since won numerous business awards, and she has even had the honour of meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace, in recognition of her contribution to business in Britain. As if she didn't do enough already, she is also a  motivational speaker.   

Hazel became aware of Jodi Taylor when Jodi's self published book topped the Amazon Charts, and approached her with an offer to publish her books, She's a self-confessed workaholic, and now lives on a boat for part of the year in far flung climes. Hazel is an integral part of our convention, and will be participating in several activities and discussions.  ​

Reservoir 5

Our Band for Saturday night are Reservoir 5, a group of seasoned and polished musicians, who we are sure will play something to please everyone. Reservoir 5 are amongst the UK’s most popular entertainment bands, heavily influenced by their love of classic funk, rock, and pop.
 
Fronted by renowned and ever-popular singer Richard Oliver, a great night is guaranteed. Richard remains the go-to vocalist for artists like Robbie Williams, Ed Sheeran, Gary Barlow and One Direction.