Contributors

Deborah Lake joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 18, and served in various locations around the world. She is a qualified pilot, but has also worked as an actor in film, television and theatre. She has published numerous military books, including Smoke and Mirrors: Q-Ships against U-Boats in the First World War. She currently lives in Northumberland.

Malcolm Lambert was formerly Reader in Medieval History at the University of Bristol. Of his book Medieval Heresy (now in its third edition), the American medieval historian, Norman F. Cantor, wrote: 'A masterpiece of learning, thought, and insight. No serious student of the Middle Ages will fail to read and indeed reread this seminal work. I regard it as one of the finest and most important books on medieval history ever written.' His other books include The Cathars (1998) and Christians and Pagans: The Conversion of Britain from Alban to Bede (2000). He lives in Worthing.

Max Landsberg is an internationally recognised authority on executive coaching, development and leadership. His books on coaching, motivation and leadership have sold more than 250,000 copies in fifteen languages. Max combines the strategic perspectives of having been a partner at McKinsey & Company with the developmental insights learned and refined as a senior partner at Heidrick & Struggles, and currently at Korn Ferry. Previous books include: The Tao of Coaching, The Tao of Motivation, The Tools of Leadership.

Nick Lane is a biochemist in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London. 'Like his forebears in that same department – Steve Jones, JBS Haldane – he's that rare species, a scientist who can illuminate the bewildering complexities of biology with clear, luminous words' (Observer). His research focuses on the role of bioenergetics in the origin of life and the evolution of cells. Nick was awarded the 2015 Biochemical Society Award for his outstanding contribution to the molecular life sciences. He has published four critically acclaimed books, which have been translated into 20 languages. Life Ascending won the 2010 Royal Society Prize for Science Books. The Independent described him as 'one of the most exciting science writers of our time.'

David Lane has written for the Guardian and the Financial Times, and since 1994 has been The Economist's Business and Finance Correspondent for Italy. His last book was the highly regardedBerlusconi's Shadow (2004). He has lived in Rome since 1972.

Hugh Lasgarn was a veterinarian in Wales during the 1950s.

Laura Lau is a second-generation Chinese American writer. Her books include Best-Loved Chinese Proverbs, Wedding Feng Shui, and the Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes – now available in its 40th anniversary edition. She has written for Refinery29, Wedding Channel, The Knot, and Net-a-Porter Magazine among others. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Theodora Lau was born in Shanghai and has also published Chinese Horoscopes for Your Child.

Peter Leach is seen as the founding father of family business thinking in the UK and pioneered research in the field in the 80's. He founded the Stoy Centre for Family Business, and was previously a partner at BDO LLP. He founded his own business, Peter Leach & Partners LLP, in 2008, which won the STEP Family Business Advisor of the Year 2013/14 before being acquired by Deloitte LLP in 2015. He is now a partner at Deloitte leading the family Enterprise Consulting practice there.

Lau Yee-Wa is one of Hong Kong's most exciting emerging authors. She studied Chinese Language and Literature and then Philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, graduating with a Masters degree before going on to earn her Postgraduate Diploma in Secondary Education. Yee-Wa worked as an editor in a publishing house for five years before her short story 'The Shark' won the prestigious Hong Kong Champion Award for Creative Writing in Chinese in 2016.

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist, entrepreneur and former Googler. The creator of learning community Ness Labs and author of its popular newsletter, she is a world-leading expert on mindful productivity and systematic curiosity. She has featured in Wired, Rolling Stone and Business Insider. She lives in London.

@neuranne
nesslabs.com

Adam Kuper was most recently Centennial Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics and a visiting professor at Boston University. A Fellow of the British Academy and a recipient of the Huxley Medal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Kuper has appeared many times on BBC TV and radio and he has reviewed regularly for the London Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Wall Street Journal.

Jean Kwok is the internationally bestselling author of Girl in Translation, Mambo in Chinatown, Searching for Sylvie Lee and The Leftover Woman, and contributor to the Sunday Times bestseller, Marple: Twelve New Stories. Her work has been published in twenty countries and she has been selected for numerous honours, including the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award shortlist. She is fluent in Chinese, Dutch and English, and currently lives in the Netherlands.

Nikhil Krishnan is a Fellow in Philosophy at Robinson College, Cambridge. He did his doctorate in Philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford. His essays and reviews have appeared in the New Yorker, New Statesman, Daily Telegraph and Literary Review.