Valerie Martin

William Nicholson - with Charlie Fletcher Academy Award nominee William Nicholson (Shadowlands and Gladiator) and Charlie Fletcher (Taggart, Afterlife) are both currently adapting their novels for the screen - what will that mean for the stories? They offer a few insights in this 2007 podcast… Maggie Fergusson & Michael Morpurgo (2012 event) He's a master storyteller who has left an indelible mark on countless children who’ve grown up with his stories… John Hartson (2011 Event) The explosively talented Welsh footballer John Hartson enjoyed success with Arsenal and West Ham before becoming a striker for Celtic, where he scored more than 100 goals in a glorious five year period… Nile Rodgers (2012 event) He may be best known for the disco hit Le Freak but Nile Rodgers’ influence on pop music has been so very much greater than that… Val McDermid: Portrait of a Criminal (2020 Event) Inspired in part by the wildly popular Portrait Artist of the Year competition, the ever-inventive Val McDermid teases the mysterious connection between Still Life and the Sky Arts series in a conversation with one of its widely-admired presenters, Dame J… Alaa Al Aswany (2016 Event) In 2002, The Yacoubian Building was an international bestseller, establishing Alaa Al Aswany as one of the Arab world’s most influential voices. Since then, Egypt has changed radically. However, Al Aswany’s novel The Automobile Club of Egypt represent… Lewis Alsamari - with Marina Nemat Iraqi exile Lewis Alsamari and Iranian Marina Nemat both wrote deeply moving and personal accounts of their experiences of escape to the West… Kevin Barry at the Edinburgh International Book Festival In his early novels City of Bohane and Beatlebone as well as his short stories, Kevin Barry showed clear signs of his prodigious talent as a writer… Susan Greenfield with Kirsty Wark (2013 event) She’s the Professor of Pharmacology at Oxford University and has been awarded no fewer than 30 honorary degrees for her work. Baroness Susan Greenfield has risen to… Dylan Wiliam - Formative Assessment Professor Dylan Wiliam of University College, London is a leading education expert and champion of Formative Assessment. In this event from 2007, he talks candidly about helping children reach their goals without teaching to tests…