Contributors

Karolina Watroba is a research fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford, where she works on modern literature and film across eight European languages and beyond, with a focus on German, English, and Polish.

James Ward's London-based blog, I Like Boring Things, has featured in the Independent, Observer and on the BBC website. He is co-founder of Stationery Club and the Boring Conference, featured in the Wall Street Journal and on Radio 4. Adventures in Stationery is his first book.

Amanda Waring is a campaigner for dignity within health and social care, and the author of The Heart of Care and Being A Good Carer. A filmmaker, her campaigning film 'What Do You See' has been shown across the world, and she is a leader of training workshops on dignified care of the elderly. Amanda is a presenter for Aged Care TV, an adviser on the government's Dignity Board.

Philippa Waring is the author of Aloe Vera, A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions, Ginger, Olive Oil, and The Way of Feng Shui.

Bernard Wasserstein has been a historian of modern Jewish and Middle Eastern history for over thirty years. He taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and was Professor of History at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2000 he served as President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies; and is now Professor of History at Chicago University.

Bernard Wasserstein has been a historian of the Israeli-Arab conflict for the past thirty years. He taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From 1982 to 1996 he was Professor of History at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and from 1996 to 2000 he served as President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He was Professor of History at the University of Glasgow and is now Professor of History at Chicago. Divided Jerusalem (also published by Profile Books) aroused widespread comment and was particularly praised for its lucidity and objectivity.

David Watkin was Professor of Architectural History at the University of Cambridge. He has written major studies of architects like Soane and Thomas Hope and the influential polemic Architecture and Morality. He is now retired and lives in Chicago.

Nigel Watson graduated from Durham University with a degree in history before embarking on his career as a writer and consultant. He is the author of several company and educational histories including The Durham Difference, MGS: A History at 500 and The Hart of Waste. He lives with his wife and children in North Yorkshire.

Paul Watson is the youngest international football coach in the world. Before taking up coaching, he worked as a journalist for Football Italia. He lives in London.

Alan Watts published over 25 books, including The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, The Way of Zen and Tao: The Watercourse Way.

He was a philosopher, academic and theologian, who wrote and spoke widely on Asian philosophy and theology. He is best known as an interpreter of Zen Buddhism in particular, and of Indian and Chinese philosophy in general. He was the author of more than twenty books on the philosophy and psychology of religion. He died in 1973.

Christian Weaver is an award-winning human rights barrister, social justice campaigner and author of The Law in 60 Seconds: A Pocket Guide to Your Rights. He has represented families in some of the country's most high-profile inquests, including that of Awaab Ishak, a toddler who tragically died in social housing due to prolonged exposure to mould. The case led to the creation of 'Awaab's Law' which directly benefits over 4 million social housing tenants.

In 2023 Christian was named Legal Aid Newcomer of the Year; he was listed in The Lawyer Hot 100 2024 and has been featured on nearly all UK major news platforms including BBC News, the Guardian and Radio 4. Concerned about the increasing number of people he knew being stopped and searched, in 2018 he created the YouTube series 'The Law in 60 Seconds' to inform people of their rights and make the law accessible; those videos have now been viewed thousands of times. Christian has worked at INQUEST and Liberty; currently he is instructed as a barrister on the Covid-19 Public Inquiry. Alongside this, he is touring the UK educating the public on their legal rights. He is from Nottingham and based in Manchester.

Bob Weber is a journalist and author based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Kaaron Warren is the author of the novels Slights, Walking the Tree, Mistification, Tide of Stone and The Grief Hole and the short story collections Through Splintered Walls, The Grinding House, and Dead Sea Fruit. Her short stories have won her a Shirley Jackson Award, as well as multiple Australian Shadows Awards, Ditmar Awards and Aurealis Awards. She lives in Canberra, Australia.

Robert Walser was born in Switzerland in 1878 and worked as a bank clerk before becoming a writer. In 1929 he was diagnosed as 'schizophrenic' and lived the last twenty years of his life in hospital. His novels include Jakob von Gunten and The Assistant. Robert Walser died in 1956.

Shaun Walker is an international correspondent for The Guardian. He reported from Moscow for more than a decade and is the author of The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past. His coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine was shortlisted for the Foreign Reporter of the Year category at the British 2023 Press Awards, and he has appeared as a commentator on Russia and Ukraine for various television and radio programmes. He currently divides his time between Warsaw, Kyiv and London.

Philip Walling started out farming in Cumbria, then trained as a barrister and practised for twenty-five years, before turning to writing. From the law he brings learning and rigour, while his roots in the land give him a passion for and deep understanding of the landscape and people of rural England – a combination which lends a unique perspective to his work. He now lives in Northumberland.