Creative Writing Challenge

Ben Bailey Smith spent 10 years as a youth worker by day and as underground rapper Doc Brown by night, before picking up a gig tweaking comedy scripts for Lenny Henry led to Ben attempting stand-up for the first time in February 2008.

For the next decade Ben retained his old rap moniker and dominated the live comedy scene, before hanging up his mic to focus on acting, writing and producing. He has starred in the likes of Disney’s Star Wars: Andor, Amazon’s Cinderella and BBC’s The Sixth Commandment, written for TV Film Radio and Advertising, and has published six children’s books.’

Biog from Ben and Agent at United Agents.

The creator and designer of many beloved children’s shows including the BAFTA-winning Bob the Builder, Frankenstein’s Cat and Raa Raa the Noisy Lion, author and illustrator Curtis Jobling lives with his family in Cheshire, England. Known for his acclaimed Max Helsing and Haunt books for older audiences, his debut novel was Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf. Described as “Game of Thrones for a middle grade audience” upon publication in 2011, it was shortlisted for the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize. A further five novels followed in the million-selling fantasy series, leading to its acquisition and adaptation by Lime Pictures. Wolf King is now a major new animated series on Netflix, with Curtis remaining firmly involved as lead writer and associate producer.

Martha O’Brien is the Hub Manager for the National Literacy Trust in Salford. With a background of over 20 years experience as a librarian in public and educational settings across the Northwest, Martha has returned to work in her birth city.  Enthused with a lifelong love of books and a commitment to diverse and accessible literacy, she wants to inspire a love of reading in young people across Salford. Working with young people, families, schools and the community, Martha is keen to promote not only the joy of reading and writing for pleasure, but also the important links between wellbeing and literacy.

Nick Ahad is a multiple award-winning writer and broadcaster working across TV, theatre and radio. Plays include: The Boy at the Back of the Class (Rose Theatre, Kingston, national tour 2024), Glory (Dukes Theatre, Red Ladder, Tamasha, national tour, 2019). TV writing includes Better, Emmerdale and an original series developed by BBC Drama. Radio work includes Umbreen’s Junction (2021), Partition (2017). He has broadcast thousands of hours of live radio for the BBC, presenting the Nick Ahad Show for BBC Radio Leeds for over a decade. In 2020 he joined Radio 4’s Front Row presenting team.

Samantha Giles is better known as an actor. Her most memorable role being the regular character Bernice Blackstock in the British Soap opera 'Emmerdale', which she played for 7 years, leaving in November 2019. She also played the regular character Sally Boothe in 3 series of ITV drama 'Where The Heart Is' as well as countless other TV guest roles and leads in theatre productions.

She started writing after a vivid dream she had and the result is her debut novel Rosemary and The Witches of Pendle Hill, which is set in and around Liverpool and the North West of England. During writing the book, which she juggled with filming, she swears she was channeling the late Freddie Mercury as his bands’ songs kept popping into her head and therefore one of the character's favourite bands had to be 'Queen' of course.

Samantha has had a lifelong fascination with wicca and witchcraft and has a Facebook page called Samanthas Spells which is dedicated to her interest and like Rae, Rosemary's mother in the book, Samantha makes and sells spell kits, full details of which are on her FB page. She also loves animals, cats in particular.