Contributors

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.

Sarai Walker is the author of the novel Dietland, which has been published in more than a dozen countries and adapted as a television series. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian and elsewhere. She has lectured internationally on feminism and body image, and has spoken about these topics widely in the media. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Bennington College and a PhD in English from the University of London.

Dr Dorothy Wade is a consultant psychologist at the Royal Free London NHS Trust, specialising in working with critically ill patients and their families. She is also honorary associate professor at University College London, and co-chair of UK Psychologists in Intensive Care (PINC-UK).

Previously a journalist, including as Deputy Editor of the Sunday Times Magazine, her experience commissioning and writing about psychology, health, medicine and neuroscience led her to retrain as a psychologist. She has written numerous academic book chapters, journal articles and professional guidelines. An experienced public speaker and broadcaster, she lives in London.

Altered States of Mind is her first book and in 2024 was awarded the RSL Giles St Aubyn Award for non-fiction.

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.

Caroline (Carrie) Vout is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge. She is also Director of Cambridge's Museum of Classical Archaeology and has curated exhibitions at the Fitzwilliam Museum, and at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds. Carrie has appeared on Woman's Hour and In Our Time, and contributed pieces to magazines such as Apollo, Minerva, History Today, and to Times Literary Supplement and Observer. In 2012 and 2013, she chaired the judging panel of the John D. Criticos Prize, and from 2019 to 2024 holds the Byvanck Chair at Leiden University. She has given public lectures across the world, and is regularly invited to talk to schools.

Stephen Vines has been writing about markets and business for more than two decades. He was the Deputy Business Editor of The Observer and has worked for The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and the New York-based Daily Deal. More recently he has combined writing with founding and running a number of companies and learning a lot more about how business really works. He is also an active stock market investor and has provided consultancy services to a number of listed companies. Now based in Hong Kong, he is the author of a study of the Asian financial crisis called The Years of Living Dangerously. Stephen Vines was the founding Chief Editor of Eastern Express, a ground breaking daily newspaper published in Hong Kong.

Katharina Volckmer is a writer and journalist based in London. She holds a DPhil in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford. Her first novel The Appointment was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize. It has been translated into over 15 languages and has been adapted for the stage and radio in several countries. Her writing and journalism has appeared in LitHub, HEAT, Apartamento, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Astra Magazine and others. Her second novel Calls May Be Recorded for Training and Monitoring Purposes (a.k.a Wonderfuck) was published in 2025 and has been translated into several languages.

Mark van Vugt is professor of psychology at the VU University of Amsterdam and holds honorary positions at the Universities of Oxford and Kent in the UK.

Frans de Waal was a Dutch-American primatologist and ethologist. Named as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People, he is the author of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, among many other works. He was also the C. H. Candler Professor in Emory University's Psychology Department and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He lived in Atlanta, Georgia and died in 2024.

Dale Vince is the founder of Ecotricity. A former new age traveller, he invented the idea of 'green energy', built Britain's first electric car, set up the world's first national charging network, invented sky diamonds, and runs Forest Green Rovers, the world's first vegan football club. A tree-hugging plant-eater since he was a teenager, he's a campaigner, entrepreneur, bestselling author and advocate for Green Britain.

Katharina Vestre is an embryologist who currently works as a Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oslo Department of Biosciences. The Making of You is her first book.

Boris Vian (1920-59) was a French writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer. Best remembered for L'Écume des jours (translated into English by Stanley Chapman as Froth on the Daydream and renamed Mood Indigo to tie in with the film, starring Romain Duris and Audrey Tautou), Vian's work is characterised by the dazzling wordplay and surreal plots which made him a cult figure in 1960s France and beyond.

Hana Videen has been hoarding Old English words since 2013, when she began tweeting one a day. Now over 20,000 people follow her for these daily gems from her wordhord. After her Old English doctorate at King's College London, she is now a writer and blogger in Canada, translating curiosities of history into engaging narratives.

Follow Hana on Twitter: @OEWordhord
And visit her website: www.oldenglishwordhord.com