THE AUTHORS
Carmen Henderson
Carmen Henderson was born in Hawick, Scotland. Her father worked in the Diplomatic Service so she was lucky enough to live in some fascinating parts of the world including Iceland, the USA, and Bolivia, as well as visiting many others.
After attending boarding school back in England, she went to Oxford to read English and then trained to be a teacher, taking up posts in Norwegian schools and Portugal with the British Council. Several years later, she came home and settled into a variety of English schools with a short break to have her family. She loved her choice of career, saying, “In what other job could you read good books, discuss them with interesting young minds, and actually be paid to do that?”
Moving from teaching into writing seemed a natural step and Carmen now combines her love of literature and history in her stories. Her first novel, Backjump, explores the challenges and difficulties faced by two twenty-first century young people who find themselves in a situation for which their lives have not prepared them. Her second novel, Wormhole, is due to be published shortly.
Kathleen Latham
Kathleen Latham grew up with a love of music, libraries and books. She started learning the piano at a young age and has been playing ever since. In contrast to many people, she has good memories of school, largely because she was able to study the subjects she enjoyed: languages, art and music. Her inspiring Russian teacher, Margaret Swan - whose family fled Russia and moved to Harbin in north-east China - introduced Kathleen not only to Russian language and literature but also to Mandarin Chinese.
In the 1970s, Kathleen came to Edinburgh University, where she gained an M.A. in Chinese. After living in London (where her son was born) and Wales, she returned to Edinburgh in 1987. She has worked in a variety of part-time jobs, including library assistant, teacher of Russian and acupuncturist. She has also taught piano.
Her publications include poems and one short story. In 2004, the Scottish Arts
Council (now Creative Scotland) awarded her a new writer's bursary.
Song of the Reeds is her first novel.
Moira Cormack
When Moira Cormack was a child, her family moved house all the time so she made a secret world for herself in books. She hid everywhere and anywhere in order to read. By the time her family eventually settled, her habit of hiding in books was well-establishedand one she has never let go of.
After completing a degree in Philosophy, Moira worked in France for a couple of years before settling down to a career in London. She now lives just outside Edinburgh, very near where she first started life, with her four daughters, dog, and two cats. As well as running round after her daughters, she takes parenting classes for a living.
Moira loves walking her dog beside the river every day. Ruby’s story unfolded for her while she walked. She has always written and doesn’t know why it took her so long to
write a book. She says, “It has been an inspiring, magical experience, like finding I’m home at last.”
‘The Witch of Land and Sea’ is her first novel.
Bella Kemble
Bella was born and raised in Wales but has lived and studied in Bristol, London and Manchester where she graduated with a BA(Hons) in 3D Design. She went on to teach English in Barcelona for 6 years, then returned to complete an MA in The Teaching and Practice of Creative Writing at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Bella taught Creative Writing at Cardiff University for 5 years and is currently an ESOL Lecturer at Cardiff and The Vale College. In her free time, Bella acts in a local drama group where she has won many awards in festivals and national competitions.