Authors

For more information about the authors* please see below...

Harriet Balfour-Evans

Harriet was born in a tiny house in London, back in the 80’s when people thought shoulder pads and leg warmers were ‘gnarly’. She monopolised the lead roles in pretty much every school play, enjoying the zenith of her primary school fame as the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Her solo ‘I’m late, I’m late’ frequently echoes in her head even now, as she power walks between work, workshops and coffee shops.

Now she lives and works in Berkshire, where she enjoys her favourite things: rice cakes, woolly jumpers, and forgetting to bring a map on long walks. She’s also half Kiwi. The nationality, not the fruit... Or the animal, for that matter.

Some people call her daft as a brush but she prefers the term ‘creative type’ or perhaps ‘a diamond in the rough’. She is currently writing young adult fiction, but secretly believes her true fame will come in ground-breaking picture book about mischievous baked goods.

These days you can find her tapping away at her laptop, eating Thai food, or reading a good book. If you can’t find her, it’s probably because she’s forgotten to bring a map and is currently lost in the forests of Berkshire.

Josh Martin

Josh began writing stories when he was around seven but has been making up stories for as long as he can remember. He considers himself a professional liar, ever since he managed to convince his best friends at primary school that there were unicorns trapped under the sea that only they could help.

Josh writes almost exclusively for Teens but would like to try to write for every age group one day. His favourite authors are Maggie Stiefvater, Patrick Ness and Melina Marchetta whom he one day hopes to meet, rather than simply worship as idols.

He lives in Somerset and His Own Head. In his spare time he does a lot of movie watching, drawing and (terrible) piano playing. 

Lucinda Murray

Lucinda "Cinders" Murray is Bath Spa's quintessential Les Mis enthusiast, and as a consequence, spends much of her time singing absently. Her writing has taken her to many different worlds, currently choosing an Otherworldly Cardiff as it's primary residence. She has helped run several successful writing workshops for young people Kilver Court in Shepton Mallet and is currently working in a library. Her favourite authors include Sarah Rees Brennan, Dianna Wynne Jones and Susan Cooper.

Yael Tischler

Very few people in the world can pronounce Yael’s name.  She would include a pronunciation guide, but that would spoil the fun.  Suffice it to say that you can call her most things, except for late for dinner.

Yael Tischler’s literary career began at the tender age of 10, when she composed an unauthorized sequel (which some might dare refer to as “fanfiction”) to Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars, in which the main characters reunited after World War II to eat at shmorgishborg.  Her grade 5 English teacher pronounced it “very good.”

Currently, Yael writes YA fantasy, but she’s been known to dabble in stories for younger readers.  Her favourite writers include Holly Black, Patrick Ness and Moira Young. 

Yael is Bath Spa’s resident Canadian. She’s originally from Vancouver, but has also lived in New York and Montreal.  When she’s not writing, she’s most likely to be found on her bike or spontaneously belting show-tunes.