Contributors

John Rechy is the author of seventeen books, including City of Night, Numbers, Rushes and The Coming of the Night. He has received many awards, including PEN Center USA's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lifetime-Recognition Award from the University of California at Riverside. He lives in Los Angeles.

Martin Rees is Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics and Master of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He was the President of the Royal Society until this year, and is the Astronomer Royal. A member of the House of Lords, he is a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His awards include the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Einstein Award of the World Cultural Council and the Crafoord Prize (Royal Swedish Academy).

Bora Lee Reed was born in Seoul, South Korea and lives in California. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing, an MA in Theology and a BA in English. In 2023, she was selected as a Reece's LitUp Fellow. Song for Another Home is her first novel.

RINA RAPHAEL is a journalist who has covered the wellness industry for Fast Company magazine as well as for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Global Wellness Institute, among other outlets. Her industry newsletter, Well To Do, covers wellness trends and offers market analysis. Previously, she served as a senior producer and lifestyle editor at Today.com and NBCNews.com. She lives in Los Angeles.

John Ray is Sir Herbert Thompson Professor of Egyptology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Selwyn College. He has previously held posts in the British Museum and at the University of Birmingham, and has been a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Yale and Chicago. He is the author of Reflections of Osiris (Profile 2001) which David Starkey called 'a triumph' and Tom Holland 'the best introduction to ancient Egypt I've read' (Daily Telegraph).

Derek Raymond was born Robin Cook in 1931. His novels include A State of Denmark, The Crust on its Uppers, I Was Dora Suarez and How the Dead Live, which was made into a film. The son of a textile magnate, he dropped out of Eton aged sixteen and spent much of his early career among criminals and was employed at various times as a pornographer, organiser of illegal gambling, money launderer, pig-slaughterer and minicab driver. He died in London in 1994.

Adela Raz served as Afghanistan's last Ambassador to the United States, and notably, she was the first woman to hold the position of Permanent Representative/Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Nations. She has been a prominent advocate for women's leadership and a staunch supporter of multilateralism, democracy, and human rights. She was the first woman to serve as a Deputy Foreign Minister in Afghanistan. Currently, she is the Director of Afghanistan Policy Lab at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs, and a visiting fellow at Hudson Institute.

George Raveling was a legend in the worlds of sports, business and culture. Following a standout college basketball career, he became head coach for numerous college basketball teams, as well as assistant-coaching the US Olympic team. Later, Raveling joined Nike at the request of Phil Knight, where he became Director of International Basketball and played an integral role in signing Michael Jordan. He was inducted into the Naismtih Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jae Rance is a parent with a long history of eczema in her family. She founded Scratchsleeves, a company that produces child-friendly anti-scratch solutions for kids, after making the first sleeves for her own son as he struggled with eczema. She shares tips and advice for parents on the Scratchsleeves blog.

Nerina Ramlakhan is a physiologist, sleep and stress expert, author and speaker with 30 years of experience in her field. She has been featured in publications including Stylist, Daily Mail, Telegraph and Closer.

JS Rafaeli has worked as a copy writer, a brand consultant, researcher and booking agent. He currently plays in a band.

Paul Rambali is a writer and broadcaster and was a rock journalist for the NME during the punk era and editor of The Face from 1980-1987. The author of two books about France and works including It's All True – In the Cities and Jungles of Brazil, a personal odyssey exploring issues of development and culture in the Third World, he also ghost-wrote Phoolan Devi, the autobiography of India's Bandit Queen, which has been published in 26 countries. He now lives in Paris.

Zoë Rankin grew up in Scotland. She studied International Relations with Arabic before going on to qualify as a teacher. She spent many years travelling in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and eventually settled in New Zealand. Her father was in mountain rescue in Scotland, and so her passion for the outdoors grew early. She spends a lot of time hiking and cycling with her husband and two young children in New Zealand, and the more remote locations inspired the idea for her debut novel The Vanishing Place.