Contributors

Erich von Daniken spent a lifetime gathering evidence to prove that before the dawn of recorded history our ancestors were visited by an alien race. Erich Von Daniken was responsible for popularising the ancient astronaut hypothesis of human development. Orthodox historians have been sceptical but a vast public have been drawn to his ideas by instinctive interest and wonder. His 26 books have sold over 60 million copies, in over 40 languages. He died in 2026.

Kate Daly is the founder of the award-winning separation service amicable, a leading divorce expert and a qualified relationship counsellor. She was an outspoken advocate for the campaign to introduce no-fault divorce in England and Wales in 2022, and is the host of The Divorce Podcast. amicable divorce is her first book.

Mark Curtis is an author, journalist and consultant: his previous books include Web of Deceit and Unpeople. He is a former Research Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and was until recently Director of the World Development Movement. He has worked in the field of international development for 14 years, including as Head of Global Advocacy and Policy at Christian Aid and Head of Policy at ActionAid.

Born in 1949, Didier Daeninckx lives in Paris. Recognised as France's leading left-wing mystery writer, his work is translated into all European languages. His 1984 novel Murder in Memoriam forced the French government to try Nazi collaborators, led to a life of imprisonment for Paul Touvier and made President Mitterrand declare 16 July a day of national reflection on fascism and racism.

Emma Dabiri is an Irish-Nigerian academic,
author and broadcaster. She spent over a decade as a teaching fellow in the African department at SOAS. She is a final year Visual Sociology PhD researcher at Goldsmiths, and author of the Sunday Times bestseller What White People Can Do Next and Don't Touch My Hair. In 2023 she was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She has presented several television and radio programmes including BBC Radio 4's critically-acclaimed documentaries Journeys into Afro-futurism and Britain's Lost Masterpieces, as well as BBC 2's Back in Time for Brixton and the Cannes Silver Lion award-winning Hair Power for Channel 4. She is a Contributing Editor at Elle and runs the Instagram account, Disobedient Bodies.

Joshua Paul Dale is a Professor in the Department of English Literature and Culture at Chuo University in Tokyo. Since moving to Japan in the 1990s, Dale has pioneered the field of cuteness studies, and is the co-editor of The Aesthetics and Affects of Cuteness, and edited 'Cute Studies', a special issue of The East Asian Journal of Popular Culture. Dale has been featured as an expert on cuteness by media outlets such as the New York Times, CNN, National Geographic, the Guardian, The Cut, Refinery29 and Discover Magazine.

David Crystal is Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Bangor. His many books range from clinical linguistics to the liturgy and Shakespeare. He is the author of Making a Point, The Story of English in 100 Words and Spell It Out: The Singular History of English Spelling, both published by Profile. His Stories of English is a Penguin Classic.

Alex Cuadros is a freelance journalist and writer based in New York. He spent six years living in São Paulo and has written for the New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post and Bloomberg, where he was a dedicated 'billionaires reporter'. This is his first book.

Cliff Cunningham started out his career as a teacher and then trained as a Psychologist; since 1969 he worked as a researcher with children and adults with Down's syndrome. His main area of research was early intervention and child development but he also touched upon research investigations into thyroid dysfunction, atlanto-axial dislocation, menstruation, mental health in adults with Down's syndrome and many more.

Cliff wrote a seminal book in 1982 (revised 2006) for parents of children with Down's syndrome, Down Syndrome – An Introduction for Parents and Carers, at a time when there was very little positive and factual information available. The book is informed by the author's many years' involvement with a study of over 160 children with Down's syndrome whose progress he charted into adulthood.

He was a long serving adviser to the UK Down's Syndrome Association and received an award from DSA for his work in the area.

Cliff received an award from the DSA for his long service to Down's syndrome as part of our 40th year celebrations. He will be sadly missed.

Judith Curthoys MSt, DAA has been archivist at Christ Church since 1994. During that time, she was co-editor of Christ Church: a portrait of the House (2006), has contributed articles to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004), and was for ten years reviews editor of the local archaeological and architectural journal Oxoniensia.

Peter Culshaw was once described by Malclm McLaren as 'the Indiana Jones of world music'. His assignments have included reports from the Amazon and Siberia. He has profiled many leading classical, world and jazz musicians from the Observer andDaily Telegraph, as well as BBC radio. He is currently music editor for theartsdesk.com

Jennifer Crwys-Williams is a pioneering South African journalist, magazine editor, radio and television presenter. Since 1994 she has hosted her own shows in South Africa, interviewing world famous figures – including Nelson Mandela.