Victor Canning was a prolific writer throughout his career, which began young: he had sold several short stories by the age of nineteen and his first novel, Mr FinchleyDiscovers His England(1934) was published when he was twenty-three. It proved to be a runaway bestseller. Canning also wrote for children: his trilogy The Runaways was adapted for US children’s television. Canning’s later thrillers were darker and more complex than his earlier work and received further critical acclaim.

Chris Russell is a writer and musician based in London. Since forming The Lightyears in his teens he has toured the world, playing everywhere from Wembley Stadium to Glastonbury Festival. He has worked as a music reviewer and features writer, and is currently writer-in-residence for Byte the Book. As well as Mockstars, Chris is also the author of a successful series of novels for young adults: Songs About a Girl, Songs About a Boy and Songs About Us.

Lee Farnsworth studied Genetics at Newcastle University, eventually gaining a PhD for his work on bovine mitochondria. He then spent more than fifteen years in the pharmaceutical industry, holding senior leadership positions in Europe and the US. He kissed the corporate world goodbye to spend more time writing. Lee lives in Berkshire. He has two children and a large collection of bird feeders.

Castle Freeman, Jr. is the author of five novels, including the critically acclaimed Go With Me, which has been made into a film starring Anthony Hopkins, as well as two short-story collections. For thirty years he contributed pieces on country living in New England in The Old Farmer’s Almanac, and he has lived rural Vermont since 1975.