Ben Goldacre is a doctor and science writer who wrote the 'Bad Science' column in the Guardian from 2003 to 2011. His work focuses on unpicking the evidence behind misleading claims from journalists, the pharmaceutical industry, alternative therapists, and government reports. He has made a number of documentaries for BBC Radio 4, and his first book Bad Science reached Number One in the nonfiction charts, has sold over 400,000 copies.

Nick Cohen is a journalist and commentator for the Observer and Evening Standard. He is also the author of 'What's Left'? – the most important and provocative commentaries on how the Left lost its way.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. Her first novel 'Purple Hibiscus' was published in 2003 and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Her second novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' won the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction. Her work has been selected by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and the BBC Short Story Awards and has appeared in various literary publications, including Zoetrope and The Iowa Review.

Nigel Slater is one of Britain's most highly regarded food writers. His beautifully written prose, warm personality and unpretentious, easy-to-follow recipes have won him a huge following. He writes an award winning weekly column in the 'Observer' and edits their 'Food Monthly' supplement, and he is a regular contributor to Sainsbury's 'The Magazine'.

Annie Proulx's books include the novel 'The Shipping News' and the story collection 'Fine Just the Way It Is'. Her many honors include a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, the Irish Times International Fiction Prize and a PEN/Faulkner award. Her story 'Brokeback Mountain', which originally appeared in The New Yorker, was made into an Academy Award-winning film. She lives in Wyoming.

Hilary Mantel is the author of thirteen books , including 'A Place of Greater Safety', 'Beyond Black', and the memoir 'Giving Up the Ghost'. Her two most recent novels, 'Wolf Hall' and its sequel 'Bring Up the Bodies' have both been awarded The Man Booker Prize – an unprecedented achievement.

Patrick Gale was born in 1962 on the Isle of Wight. He was educated at Winchester and Oxford, and now lives in north Cornwall.

Jonathan Franzen is the author of four novels, The Twenty-Seventh City (1988), Strong Motion (1992), The Corrections (2001) and Freedom (2010); a collection of nonfiction, How to Be Alone (2002); and The Discomfort Zone (2006), a memoir.

Michael Chabon is the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels - including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Yiddish Policemen's Union - two collections of short stories, and one other work of non-fiction. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and children.