Paul is a writer and business consultant. He has a First Class Honours Degree in Creative Writing and Children’s Literature and a Master’s degree in Creative Writing. His first book was published by The Economist in 2007 and is now in its third edition. He has had several further books published by Kogan Page, forming part of their hugely influential ‘Business Success’ series. He is also published by Routledge, distinguished specialists in academic subject matter. He has written for magazines and professional publications as diverse as the Independent, Evening Standard, Maxim and Viz comic. He has also written for television. He has a novel nearing completion. As a reviewer, editor and teacher of creative writing, Paul has supported developing writers for many years. Paul is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: autobiography, memoir, travel, business and management textbooks, self-help books.

Rowena is a journalist and a prize-winning short story writer, published by Andersen Press, with her debut novel out with Walker Children’s Books in 2018. She has a MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University (passed with distinction). She’s appeared at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, runs creative writing sessions on adult and young people’s fiction, and judges a south Devon short story competition. Rowena blogs about writing techniques and developments in the publishing industry on the Scattered Authors’ Society’s Awfully Big Blog Adventure. Rowena is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: Teen & YA, historical including military & wars, literary & commercial fiction including teen romance.

Debz is an award-winning short-story writer and a published novelist. She has had over thirty short stories published, as well as being shortlisted in a number of writing competitions. These include the prestigious US Pushcart Prize 2013, the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2013, and Debz was the winner of the inaugural Bath Short Story Award 2013. Her firsts novel was published in 2013 and her short story collection was published in 2019. She has edited for Cafelit (online magazine) and edits and commissions short stories for Bridge House Publishing. She has been an editor and mentor with Cornerstones since 2014. Debz is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests:short story collections, literary, psychological thrillers, YA.

Kate’s first novel was published in 2007; since then she has continued to publish over fifty works of historical, romance, and women’s fiction. She has been published by Penguin, Hachette, Harper Collins, Lion Fiction, and Tule Publishing, and she is a USAToday bestselling author with over three million copies of her books in print. Some of her latest novels include: That Night at the Beach (2023), When We Were Innocent (2022), and The Angel of Vienna (2022). In addition to writing, she has taught creative writing workshops and guided retreats, and has participated in one-to-one online author mentoring. She has been appointed a Royal Literary Fund Teaching Fellow at Cardiff University for 2023-2024. She is passionate about helping readers to create compelling characters and powerful emotional conflicts, so their stories can come alive. An American ex-pat, she currently lives in South Wales with her husband and five children. Kate is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: historical, contemporary, and commercial fiction.

N.B: Please note, Kate is a VAT-registered editor.

Amanda has worked as a developmental editor since 2011, first within Strange Chemistry and Angry Robot and thereafter as a freelancer. Her clients for editing and proofreading include Angry Robot Books, Aconyte Books, Black Library, Orion Dash, Macmillan Kids and Wise Ink. She is also a literary agent with Azantian Literary Agency. Amanda is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: adult science fiction and fantasy, young adult of all genres

Nicholas Herrmann is a writer and editor based in Scotland. His fiction won the New Voices Award in the 2022 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, and has been shortlisted for the Bath Novel Award. His non-fiction – featured in Places Journal, Ernest Journal and Little White Lies, among other publications – focuses on place, identity and culture. He has a decade of editorial experience with clients such as HarperCollins, Faber & Faber and Juilliard, and has worked as a developmental editor for six years, specialising in memoir, literary fiction and speculative fiction. He graduated with Distinction from the Creative Writing MA at Bath Spa University in 2017 and is currently studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of St Andrews. Nick is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: narrative non-fiction and memoir, travel writing, writing with a strong sense of place, books with ecological themes, literary fiction, speculative fiction and science fiction.

Barbara writes under the name of Bea Davenport. She has had five novels commercially published. Her crime/suspense novels, In Too Deep and This Little Piggy, are published by Legend Press. Her middle-grade children’s historical time fantasy, The Serpent House, was shortlisted for a Times/Chicken House award before being published by Curious Fox. My Cousin Faustina is a novel for reluctant readers, originally written as an interactive e-book for Fiction Express and published by ReadZone Books. Her novel aimed at teenage readers, The Misper, was published by The Conrad Press. Barbara is a former newspaper and BBC journalist who holds a Creative Writing PhD from Newcastle University, UK. She is programme leader for the BA Hons Creative and Professional Writing degree at University of Sunderland and teaches on the Hull University online Masters course in Creative Writing. Barbara is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: crime/suspense, women’s fiction, children’s and teen fiction, historical fiction and creative non-fiction.

Rosie is an author and freelance copy-editor who has worked in communications and editorial roles for over a decade. Her first novel, Secrets of a Serial Killer, was published by HarperCollins’ One More Chapter in 2020, and her second is due for publication in 2021. Alongside her freelance work she is currently working on her third novel. She has a Masters in Creative Writing with distinction from the University of Edinburgh. Rosie is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: adult commercial fiction including book club, psychological thrillers, women's fiction, mystery, horror, contemporary romance.

Craig is the author of twelve titles, most published by Penguin-Random House and Franklin Watts (Hachette). A graduate of Bristol University, Craig spent many years writing and reviewing medical-related material before turning his hand to fiction. His debut novel, Resistance, was shortlisted for the Branford-Boase Award. His second, Dogfight, won the Hampshire Book Award and was shortlisted for the Lancashire Book Award. His latest title, Daniel, was shortlisted for the Young Quills Award 2016. As well as having held events in venues across the UK including the British Imperial War Museum, Craig has hosted workshops in creative writing, and in the past has worked with students studying creative writing at undergraduate and post-graduate level at the University of Winchester. A number of Craig’s titles also form part of the ever popular EDGE series published by Franklin Watts. Craig is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: Thrillers, mystery, historical (special interest), action & adventure, general literary fiction, for adults and older YA.

Rachel is a literary agent with the Ben Illis Agency and the author of six books, published by Simon & Schuster, OUP, and Scholastic US. She has a first-class degree in English Literature and Language and a PGCE in Secondary English, which she puts to good use running creative writing workshops and events for both adults and children. Rachel also freelances as an editor, copywriter, and festival moderator to feed her need for new stories. Rachel is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: Middle Grade and YA fiction, especially action, mystery, diverse voices, and comedy. Also children's non-fiction

Matt is an experienced editor working with new writers and established names such as Naomi Alderman, Malorie Blackman, Franck Cottrell-Boyce, Deborah Moggach and Jeanette Winterson. Stories are his passion – helping develop ideas for screen, podcast, nonfiction and novels.

After studying literature at Caius, Cambridge, Matt worked for the RSC and Royal National Theatre before moving into TV/film development, assessing novels for adaptation for C4/ Film 4, as well as running new writer workshops. He was also on the BAFTA panel assessing youth drama. As Development Producer for The Digital Fiction Factory, he helped with multi-media projects from inception to final draft stage. He currently offers consultancy, editing, mentoring and translation services to a range of longform writers, and is ghostwriting a female-led YA superhero novel. Helping develop clear, engaging and inventive stories for broadcast or publication is his goal. Matt is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: commercial fiction, historical fiction, literary non-fiction, magical realism, psychological suspense, reading group fiction, romance, self-help non-fiction, thrillers, YA.‍ ‍

Gary has been writing science fiction professionally for over a decade, including the bestselling Stealing Light that gave birth to several sequels. He’s been editing for nearly as long, and has run workshops and taught classes focused on science fiction as well as acting as a publisher under the title Brain in a Jar Books. Gary is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: science fiction, thrillers, crime, fantasy, horror.

Freda is the author of twenty-one novels and a new short story collection, Nights of Blood Wine. She has written in a wide variety of fantasy styles including epic, supernatural, vampire, historical and contemporary. Her books have been published by Hodder & Stoughton, Pan Macmillan, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Tor (US) and Titan Books. In 1997 her novel Dracula the Undead won the Dracula Society’s Best Gothic Novel Award, and her 2009 contemporary fantasy Elfland won the Romantic Times Award for Best Fantasy Novel. She’s taken part in all kinds of creative writing activities including groups, workshops, mentoring and editorial work. Freda is a Cornerstones market editor.

Interests: Fantasy and science fiction, psychological thrillers, mystery, paranormal, gothic, magical realism, literary fiction, erotica, anything unique and character-centred.

Laura has published seven novels for adults (two under a pseudonym) and numerous short stories in magazines and anthologies. Her fiction is published by Headline Accent and Legend Times. These novels are That Night in New York, Crossing the Line, The Family Line, Redemption Song and Skin Deep. Crossing the Line was a Welsh Books Council book of the month and Skin Deep has been widely praised, including a Not the Booker longlisting.

Alongside writing, she works as a creative writing tutor for organisations including New Writing South, the Creative Writing Programme and West Dean College where she teaches on the Creative Writing & Publishing MA and MFA, and as a structural editor and mentor for leading literary consultancies, coaching writers to competition short listings and publication. She has appeared at festivals and events nationwide including GladFest, Frome Festival, Chorlton Book Festival and Shoreham WordFest. She is represented by Camilla Shestopal at Shesto Literary. She has been an editor and mentor for Cornerstones since 2011. Laura is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: women's fiction, romance, psychological thrillers, historical.

Following a degree in creative arts, Rebecca worked in the music industry before moving into TV and film production on music videos, commercials and documentaries. She later completed the Creative Writing Certificate at Sussex University. The Liar’s Chair was published by Mantle/Pan Macmillan in 2015 and was chosen for both the Loose Women and Poppy Loves book clubs. Her second psychological thriller, The Hidden Grils, was released in 2020 and was longlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger award. She is currently working on a third novel. Rebecca has taught for Guardian Masterclasses, the Creative Writing Programme and Brighton and Hove YMCA. As well as novels, Rebecca writes short stories and her articles have appeared in The Independent, Psychologies and Buzzfeed amongst others. She has spoken at events nationwide including Bloody Scotland, CrimeFest and the Isle of Wight Literary Festival. Rebecca is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: contemporary fiction, both commercial and literary, plus thrillers and crime.

Clare was born in Tooting, south London in 1987. Her first novel was published by Viking, Penguin in 2017, followed shortly by her first collection of short fiction, How the Light Gets In, with Influx Press. She has an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmiths College, University of London and a BA in History from the University of Oxford. She has taught creative writing in a wide range of settings, and is particularly interested in working with writers of contemporary fiction, both long and short. Clare is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: Contemporary fiction.

N.B: Clare is a VAT-registered editor.

Jaine has been writing science fiction and fantasy professionally since 2007. She also writes for video-games, has written for Dr Who, and teaches creative writing. Her novels include the Hidden Empire space opera series, published by Gollancz. Her short fiction has appeared in various anthologies and magazines in the UK and US, has won the British Science Fiction Association Shorter Fiction Award and has been long-listed for the BBC National Short Story Award. Jaine is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: science fiction, fantasy, YA, historical and Fortean non-fiction.

Suellen has written two novels, After Everything and The Housekeeper, both published in the US and the UK by Simon and Schuster. She has also written non-fiction books, including the memoirs of the Michelin starred chef, Michel Roux Jr.

She worked as a journalist and television producer before studying creative writing at the University of Oxford and Bath Spa University. Suellen is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: contemporary commercial and literary fiction, psychological and family drama, and sociological non-fiction.

Lezanne is a fiction writer and freelance editor. She is represented by Rowan Lawton of Furniss Lawton and her first novel (Jellybird, Orion) was chosen as the Waitrose Book of the Week. Her second novel (The Colour of Lies, Orion) was published in August 2018. Her short stories have won or been shortlisted for The Bridport Prize, The Fish Prize (Flash and Short Story categories) and The New Writer Prose and Poetry Awards. Her work has been featured in numerous anthologies, magazines and newspapers. She has run her own writing and critique circle for six years and is passionate about supporting and assisting fellow writers. Lezanne is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: adult commercial and literary fiction, psychological suspense, magic realism and short stories.

Gina has authored seven YA novels. Her most recent books are YA-crossover thrillers, Love You to Death (2023, Scholastic) and You Can Trust Me (2022, Scholastic), and a duo of teen fairy tale retellings, All the Better to See You (2021, Scholastic) and Good Enough to Eat (2022, Scholastic). She has also authored three earlier crime-thrillers with Pan Macmillan (Pretty Twisted, 2011, an e-book bestseller, Forget Me Never, 2012, winner of the Oldham Book Award, and Saving Silence, 2013, winner of the Warwickshire Book Award and nominated for the Carnegie Medal). She has a degree in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and has spoken at literary festivals, in schools and at library events.

In addition to editing work, Gina is also an Associate Lecturer on the MA in Creative Writing for Young People course at Bath Spa University. Outside of publishing she has worked in the education sector, offering advice and guidance to young people considering university and various career pathways. Gina is a Cornerstones Market editor.

Interests: YA, MG, crime, thrillers, historical, horror, romance, all commercial fiction.