Giuseppe Gioachino Belli

The author of a monumental collection of sonnets, Giuseppe Gioachino Belli (1791–1863) is the greatest poet to have written in the Roman dialect, and is regarded as one of the finest Italian poets of the nineteenth century.

William Shakespeare

An English poet and playwright of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is widely regarded as the greatest writer in English literature and the national poet of England. His plays are the most performed of any playwright, and have been translated into every living language.

M.M. Vaughan

The daughter of South American parents, Monica Meira Vaughan grew up in Spain before moving to London at the age of five, where she learnt English by watching Sesame Street and reading every Roald Dahl book she could get her hands on. She has over ten years’ experience as a teacher, working mostly with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Monica loves writing after midnight, building cardboard cities and collecting notebooks. She lives in London with her daughter and their cat “Toto From-Kansas”.

Read an interview with M.M. Vaughan here

Roland Watson-Grant

Roland Watson-Grant studied Literature at the University of the West Indies. A former teacher of English, he now works in advertising as a creative director.

Read an interview with Roland Watson-Grant here

Trilby Kent

Trilby Kent is the winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award for her novel Stones for My Father which also won the Africana Children’s Book of the Year award in 2012. She is also the author of two adult books: Smoke Portrait, published in 2011, and Silent Noon (2013).

Read Trilby Kent’s answers to readers’ questions here

H.J.C. Grimmelshausen

After serving as a soldier in the Thirty Years War, H.J.C. Grimmelshausen (1621–76), devoted himself to literature, penning various satires and gallant novels, although he is chiefly remembered for his picaresque masterpiece, Simplicius Simplicissimus.

Jane Austen

The witty and sharply satirical novels of Jane Austen have an influence that shows no sign of waning, with continual adaptations and echoes in contemporary culture, and an ever-enthusiastic audience.

René Magritte

René Magritte (1898–1967) was an internationally renowned Belgian Surrealist painter who also wrote prolifically on art and other subjects.

Ugo Foscolo

Ugo Foscolo (1778–1827) is one of the most popular and studied Italian poets. He is most famous for his long poem ‘On Sepulchres’, and his unfinished work The Graces. After a life of wanderings, he ended up in London, where he spent the last eleven years of his life mixing with high society and the greatest writers of the day, including Lord Byron. He died in poverty in Turnham Green, now part of London, and his tomb can still be seen in the Chiswick Old Cemetery.

Tristan Tzara

Tristan Tzara was the founder of the Dada movement, which began in Zürich during the First World War. Poet, literary iconoclast and catalyst, his ideas were inspired by his contempt for the bourgeois values and traditional attitudes towards art that existed at the time.