SDBF25 LIVE INTERVIEWS - schedule:
10:00-10:25 am
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Rosemary Griggs
10:35 - 11:00 am
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Madeline Dyer
11:10-11:35 am
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Sam Davey
11:45 - 12:10 am
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Derek Air
12:20 - 12:45 pm
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Paul Roberts
15:05 - 15:30
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Mary Earle
12:45 - 13:10 pm
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Alison Simpson
15:40 - 16:25
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Laurence Shelley
13:20 - 13:45 pm
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Debbie Young
13:55 - 14:20
Cathy Dodd & Jonathan Posner
interview with
Mark Swan
14:30 - 14:55
Cathy Dodd
interview with
Caroline Cusanelli
Rosemary Griggs
Interview with Cathy Dodd
Rosemary Griggs is an author, historian, researcher, seamstress and popular speaker. Her successful ‘Daughters of Devon’ novels tell the stories of the forgotten women of Tudor Devon. She researches, recreates and wears historical clothes in a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment at events all over the West Country.
website: https://rosemarygriggs.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladykatherinesfarthingale
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/griggs6176/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@griggs6176
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ragriggsauthor.bsky.social
Madeline Dyer
Interview with Cathy Dodd
Madeline Dyer writes SFF and horror. Her debut novel Untamed (Prizm Books, 2015; Ineja Press, 2017) won the 2015 SIBA award for Best Dystopian Novel. Her first anthology Being Ace (Page Street YA, 2023) received a starred review from School Library Journal and was named a 2024 Lammy Award Finalist. Madeline also writes romance and light-hearted contemporary fiction as Elin Annalise.
IG: @mdyerauthor
Sam Davey
Interview with Cathy Dodd
Sam Davey is a prize-winning author of fantasy and speculative fiction – both short stories and novels. Her short stories have appeared in a number of anthologies, the most recent being “Breaking Through The Penumbra”, Cicada Song Press, July 2025), and her latest novel is a feminist retelling of the origins of Camelot – entitled The Chosen Queen (June 2025, Diversion Books/Simon & Schuster). When not writing, Sam works at London’s Royal Opera House as Head of Transformation (unfortunately, no magic wands are available). She lives by the sea in Bexhill, East Sussex and is the founder of the Hastings Book Festival and chair of the Hastings Writers Group.
Derek Air
Interview with Cathy Dodd
Derek Air is a writer and podcaster. Born in Aberdeen he has been playing Subbuteo for over 50 years and has been writing about it since 2020. His first book 'Land of the Giants: My Journey Through the World of Table Football' was published by Pitch Publishing in the Summer of 2024. His next book, 'Subbuteo Close Up: The Beauty of Table Football' is due out at the end of this year, also published by Pitch. A lifelong supporter of Aberdeen FC, he now lives in Dudley in the West Midlands with his long-suffering wife, Kirstie who does not play Subbuteo but nevertheless indulges her middle-aged husband's passion for what is essentially a child's toy.
https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/land-giants
Paul Roberts
Interview with Cathy Dodd time tbc
Paul’s spent five decades mixing sound for acclaimed dramas, comedies, animations and documentaries. Now retired, he writes children’s books for eight to twelve-year-olds - two published, a third in progress. He’s also penning a memoir, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from a lifetime in the ever-changing world of television.
Alison Simpson
Interview with Cathy Dodd
Ali is a former speech writer and magazine editor and resident of Torquay, and was a published author of romances before switching genre to write sparkling murder mysteries set on the English Riviera in the 1930s. ‘Murder under the Rock’ is the first in a series featuring amateur detectives, Kitty and Nora Markham. When not writing, Ali loves travelling and walking for fitness.
http://www.facebook.com/alisonsimpson.3551/
http://www.instagram.com/asimpson_author
Debbie Young
Interview with Cathy Dodd
Debbie Young writes warm, witty, feel-good contemporary fiction full of English humour, inspired by life in the Cotswold village which has been her home for over 30 years. Published by Boldwood Books, she has three bestselling cosy mystery series, and her latest novel is Death at the Village Christmas Fair.
Website: www.authordebbieyoung.com
Facebook: @AuthorDebbieYoung
Instagram: @debbieyoungauthor
Founder & Director of the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival
Represented by the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency
Mark Swan
Interview with Cathy Dodd & Jonathan Posner
Kid ethic is award winning ( thankfully for book cover design) designer Mark Swan. The studio is based on the south coast and has been running for 15 years but Mark has been in the creative industry for over 25 years.
His early career was as an illustrator for Magazines and newspapers including a weekly column in The Financial Times. From here he moved into book cover design due to is diversity and scope in style and genre. He then spent many years as a film poster designer working on some amazing independent film projects. The most famous head he has cut out is Robert De Niro's. Mark then set up kid-ethic to design mainly for the publishing world but has also worked in the film and music industry.
During his career Mark has worked on a huge amount of book design projects with commissions from the biggest publishers to working directly with authors.
http://kid-ethic.com
Caroline Cusanelli
Interview with Cathy Dodd
Caroline Cusanelli is the bestselling indie author of A Liar’s Twisted Tongue, known for building beautiful worlds that grow darker with every layer. She’s been writing since childhood. What began as stories of fairies and frogs evolved into tangled narratives about power, obsession, and deeply flawed characters. Raised in Southern California, she’s a sun-seeker at heart, but now calls Barcelona home, where she hopes to remain immersed in literature for the rest of her life.
Visit her online at www.carolinecusanelli.com and on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube @carolinacusanelli.
Mary Elizabeth Earle
Interview with Cathy Dodd
Too old to write a book. Never! At 74 I felt inspired to write this moving account of a vulnerable young girl, whose life was changed by the unsavory actions of her knight in shining armour. Can Mary survive or will her life fall apart. It’s a poignant testament to the human spirit.
https://www.maryearle.com
Laurence Shelley
Interview with Cathy Dodd
With past lives as a copywriter, ceramics teacher and conservatory salesman, his new incarnation is as a student on an MA course in Fine Arts at the Arts University Plymouth.
His third book, and first novel - Visions of Wilderness: An Outcast’s Odyssey – began when his wife dreamt that he walked from South to North Devon. When he did so, remarkable encounters on Dartmoor convinced him there was a story to be told: of someone in search of a new life after the previous one fell apart. His research took unpredictable turns, such as wild camping, squatting and surreal experiences at Goosey Fair, Tavistock.
There are no upcoming events at this time.