Menu

Writers Directory

This unique, searchable database contains profiles of some of the UK and Commonwealth's most important living writers, as well as writers from these regions whom we have worked with. Included in the profiles are biographies, bibliographies, critical reviews, and information about awards.

Filters

Filter by genre:

Filter by project:

Filter by initial:

Filter by gender:

x Reset

Writers directory

JohnAgard
John Agard

Playwright, poet, short story and children's writer John Agard was born on 21 June 1949 in British G...

Genres:

Patience Agbabi c Lyndon Douglas
Patience Agbabi

Patience Agbabi is a poet, performer and workshop facilitator. She was born in London in 1965 to Nig...

Genres:

David Almond
David Almond

David Almond was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1951 and grew up in the small mining town of Felling...

Genres:

Rachel Anderson selfie
Rachel Anderson

Rachel Anderson was born in 1943 and worked for 20 years for BBC Radio, newspapers and magazines as ...

Genres:

PhilipArdagh c Dominic Turner
Philip Ardagh

Philip Ardagh is a prolific writer of adult and children's fiction and non-fiction. He was born in 1...

Genres:

Margaret Atwood c Jean Malek web
Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1939. She is the daughter of a forest entomologist, ...

Genres:

TashAw StacyLiu 2106 Version 3 web
Tash Aw

Tash Aw was born in Taiwan to Malaysian parents and grew up in Kuala Lumpar. He moved to England in ...

Genres:

Raj
Rajeev Balasubramanyam

Rajeev Balasubramanyam was born in 1974 in Lancashire, and his family comes from Southern India. He ...

Genres:

Biyi Bandele

Biyi Bandele was born in Nigeria in 1967, and now lives in London. He has written several plays, and...

Genres:

Sebastian Barry credit Photograph courtesy of the Irish Times
Sebastian Barry

Sebastian Barry was born on 5 July 1955 in Dublin and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. His acade...

Genres:

Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett

Ronan Bennett was born on 14 January 1956 in Belfast, Ireland. He was educated at King's College, Lo...

Genres:

Alan+Bennett credit Alex Bailey courtesy of History Boys Ltd
Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett was born in 1934 in Leeds. He studied at Exeter College, Oxford, then after a period of...

Genres:

Patrick Benson
Patrick Benson

Patrick Benson was born in 1956 and was educated at Eton. He studied classical drawing in Florence, ...

Genres:

Richard Berengarten
Richard Berengarten

Poet Richard Berengarten (formerly Burns) was born in London in 1943 into a family of musicians. He ...

Genres:

Julie Bertagna Author Photo copyright Donald MacLeod
Julie Bertagna

Julie Bertagna writes for children and young adults. She was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, and studied...

Genres:

AnneBillson
Anne Billson

Anne Billson is a film critic, novelist and photographer whose work has been widely published. She h...

Genres:

blackman.jpg
Malorie Blackman

Malorie Blackman was born in 1962. She qualified in Computer Science and followed a successful caree...

Genres:

Sir Quentin Blake

Sir Quentin Blake is one of Britain's most successful illustrators and children's authors. He was bo...

Genres:

Jan
Jan Blake

Jan Blake is one of Europe's leading storytellers who has been performing world-wide since 1986. She...

Genres:

bloom
Valerie Bloom

Valerie Bloom was born in Jamaica and came to England in 1979. She studied English with African and ...

Genres:

From Our Blog

Arabic Translation Workshop: call for expressions of interest

Apply now to help us develop an Arabic-English-Arabic translation workshop

OPEN CALL: Host a residency with an Emirati writer

Apply now to host an Emirati writer in residence

International Literature Showcase: LGBTQI+ writers

Good writing knows no borders: Val McDermid introduces her selection of ten compelling LGBTQI+ writers based in the UK today

Festival Picks: Edinburgh International Book Festival

The literature team's Festival Picks ahead of the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival

View all blog posts

Sign Up to the Newsletter

literature matters

We publish a Literature Newsletter when we have news and features on UK and international literature, plus opportunities for the industry to share. To subscribe to the newsletter, until further notice, please press the subscribe button. You may unsubscribe at any time by following the unsubscribe link in the newsletter. We will process your personal information based on your consent. British Council may use the information you provide for the purposes of research and service improvement, to ask for feedback in the form of questionnaires and surveys. We do this in our legitimate interest.



Data Protection

British Council complies with data protection law in the UK and laws in other countries that meet internationally accepted standards. You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold on you, and the right to ask us to correct any inaccuracies in that information. If you have concerns about how we have used your personal information, you also have the right to complain to a privacy regulator. For detailed information, please refer to the privacy section of our website or contact your local British Council office . We will keep your information for a period of 7 years from the time of collection.

Back to top
Visit our arts sites
British Council global

© 2019 British Council The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).