Authors

Get to know the 404 Ink authors a little better.

**ALAN CUMMING**
Alan Cumming is an mutli award-winning actor, writer, producer and performer of numerous productions including Hamlet, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Endgame, Cabaret, X2, The Good Wife, Schmigadoon! and many more. He collaborated with Forbes Masson in the 1980s to create comedy alter-egos Victor and Barry before adapting the characters for The High Life.

Inklings

**Adèle Oliver** is an artist, scholar, and linguist from Birmingham. As a Black Brit of Jamaican descent, personal interest drives Adèle’s intellectual commitment to unravelling histories (and subsequent epistemologies) using an acutely critical lens. Outside of her academic work, Adèle is a music producer and artist.
Author of: *Deeping It.*

Arusa Qureshi is a writer and editor with a particular focus on music, diversity and accessibility within arts and culture. She was formerly the Editor of UK entertainment and events guide The List, and her work has appeared in Bella Caledonia, gal-… — **Arusa Qureshi** is a writer and editor with a particular focus on music, diversity and accessibility within arts and culture. She was formerly the Editor of UK entertainment and events guide The List, and her work has appeared in Bella Caledonia, gal-dem, the Guardian, GoldFlakePaint and more. @arusaqureshi
Author of: *Flip The Script.*

**J. David Reed** is a working-class science-fiction and fantasy writer based in North-East England. He has had multiple short fiction pieces published, his most recent in dark fantasy anthology series *Dark Magic*. He is a qualified teacher and works for a charity that supports NHS workers with CPD, and is a lifelong fan of Doctor Who.
Author of: *We’re Falling Through Space.*

**Karl Thomas Smith** is a writer covering fashion, music, film, and other arts-adjacent topics across the broad culture spectrum for outlets including *Dazed*, *Highsnobiety*, *i-D*, etc. Previously an editor at *HYPEBEAST* and *The Quietus*, he lives in Brighton with his fiancée, Marianne, and their dog, Bowie.
He can usually be found cooking.
Author of: *Now Go: On Grief and Studio Ghibli.*

Maud Rowell is a freelance journalist and writer. She read Japanese at the University of Cambridge, before training in journalism. Since going blind aged 19 while travelling in South Korea, she’s made it her mission to educate and inform others abou… — **Maud Rowell** is a freelance journalist and writer. She read Japanese at the University of Cambridge, before training in journalism. Since going blind aged 19 while travelling in South Korea, she’s made it her mission to educate and inform others about the realities of sight loss. She also loves to travel, and is a keen amateur painter, film photographer, and mixed media artist. Author of: *Blind Spot.*

**Tanaka Mhishi** is a writer, performer and storyteller. His works with issues surrounding masculinity and trauma have been produced on screen for BBC 3 and on stages nationwide. He is the author of *This Is How It Happens,* a play about male survivors of sexual violence, and *Boys Don’t .* Tanaka is a trustee for SurvivorsUK, a charity supporting male and non-binary survivors of sexual violence across the UK. Author of: *Sons and Others: On Loving Male Survivors*

**Alli Patton** is a writer and music journalist based in the American South. A lover of music, the written word, and combining the two, her work can be found in The Independent, Holler, and American Songwriter. She believes, above all things, in the power music has to bring about change.
Author of: *Blitzkreig Bops.*

Casci Ritchie is a fashion historian, writer, film programmer and doting Pomeranian mother. Her research specializes in twentieth-century fashion from creation to consumption. Currently she is researching all aspects of Prince’s sartorial legacy. @… — **Casci Ritchie** is a fashion historian, writer, film programmer and doting Pomeranian mother. Her research specializes in twentieth-century fashion from creation to consumption. Currently she is researching all aspects of Prince’s sartorial legacy.
@CasciTRitchie
Author of: *On His Royal Badness.*

James Coe works as the senior policy advisor at the University of Liverpool, and is studying for a Masters in Public Administration at the University of York. He is interested in the capacity of the public sector to transform the lives of all of tho… — **James Coe** works as the senior policy advisor at the University of Liverpool, and is studying for a Masters in Public Administration at the University of York. He is interested in the capacity of the public sector to transform the lives of all of those who come into contact with it, developed over years working in the charity, and higher education sectors. Author of: *The New University.*

**Karl Johnson** is a lecturer in Sociology, a life-long geek, and a Shetlander trapped in the Central Belt of Scotland. He researches and writes about widening access to higher education, social theory and pop culture, and issues affecting the Scottish Islands – such as gendered exclusion in Lerwick’s Up Helly Aa festival.
@karlpjohnson.
Author of: *The Loki Variations.*

**Naomi Westerman** is a playwright and former anthropologist. She is a recipient of the Royal Society of Literature Award, the Michael Grandage Futures Bursary, the Derby Theatre / In Good Co Mid-Career Commission Award, and was a finalist for the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award at the Young Vic.
Author of: *Happy Death Club.*

Thom James Carter is a Scotland-based freelance writer, usually writing on tech, business, and culture. His work has been published by The New Statesman, Current Affairs, WIRED, Insider, Wellcome Collection, and more. He holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Creative Writing, both from Goldsmiths, University of London. He/him. Author of: They Came to Slay: The Queer Culture of Dungeons and Dragons.

**Anahit Behrooz** is a writer, editor, and journalist based in Edinburgh. She works as events editor at The Skinny and has written extensively on film and books for Little White Lies, The Quietus, MAP Magazine, Girls on Tops and others.
@anahitrooz
Author of: *BFFs.*

Emily Garside is a writer and professional dog Mum. She spent a number of years as an academic and lecturer, beginning with her PhD on theatrical responses to the AIDS crisis, and the evolution of LGBTQ theatre. She has written for The Queer Review,… — **Emily Garside** is a writer and professional dog Mum. She spent a number of years as an academic and lecturer, beginning with her PhD on theatrical responses to the AIDS crisis, and the evolution of LGBTQ theatre. She has written for The Queer Review, Slate, BBC, The Stage and many more. @EmiGarside.
**Author of:** ***Love That Journey For Me.***

**Jean Menzies** is an ancient historian and author from Scotland. Jean completed her PhD in classics at the University of Roehampton in 2022, with a focus on gender, myth, and rhetoric in Ancient Greece. She can usually be found online harping on about queer literature and ancient history over on her YouTube channel Jean’s Thoughts.
Author of: *All the Violet Tiaras.*

Katie Goh is a writer and editor of Chinese-Malaysian-Irish heritage, born and raised in Northern Ireland. She writes about culture and social issues for i-D, Vice, Huck and The Independent and is Intersections Editor for The Skinny. In 2019 she was… — **Katie Goh** is a writer and editor of Chinese-Malaysian-Irish heritage, born and raised in Northern Ireland. She writes about culture and social issues for i-D, Vice, Huck and The Independent and is Intersections Editor for The Skinny. In 2019 she was shortlisted for PPA Scotland’s Young Journalist of the Year award. She lives in Edinburgh. @johnnys_panic Author of: *The End: Surviving the World Through Imagined Disasters.*

**Nathan Charles** is a working-class theatre maker, producer and director from Portsmouth. He is also Co-Artistic Director of Brightmouth Productions, Co-Editor of The Crumb and Co-Founder of devised comedy group Red Biscuit Theatre. Nathan focuses on work that challenges our existing relationship to pressing socio-economic issues. Author of: *No Dice: Gambling and Risk in Modern Culture.*

**Whatever Next?** is a multi-media project designed to spark a few conversations surrounding adoption, founded by Adaline Bara, Hannah Feben-Smith and Josephine Jay. It was born out of conversations they found themselves having again and again questioning what it was like growing up as a Chinese adoptee in the west. Authors of: *Whatever Next? On Adult Adoptee Identities.*

Anne East is a freelance writer and currently lives in Suffolk. Anne read English linguistics and literature at the University of York and started a career as a retail buyer working in London and Cambridge. After having two children, Anne decided t… — **Anne East** is a freelance writer and currently lives in Suffolk. Anne read English linguistics and literature at the University of York and started a career as a retail buyer working in London and Cambridge. After having two children, Anne decided to quit the nine to five and go it alone as a content writer.
**Author of:** ***No Man’s Land.***

**Heather Parry** is a Glasgow-based writer, editor, and publisher. She is the co-founder and Editorial Director of Extra Teeth magazine, co-host of the Teenage Scream podcast and the Scottish Senior Policy & Liaison Manager for the Society of Authors. Her debut novel, *Orpheus Builds a Girl*, was published in 2022. Author of: *Electric Dreams.*

**Kajal Odedra** is an author and activist based in London and New York. Her first book *DO SOMETHING* came out in 2019. She has spent over 15 years working in activism and led the strategy for some of the UK's largest online movements as the UK Director of Change.org. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, Independent, New Statesman and The Times. Author of: *Hair/Power.*

**Liam Konemann** is a queer Australian writer based in London. In 2019/20 he participated in Spread the Word’s London Writers Awards scheme, and placed second for fiction in Streetcake Magazine’s Experimental Writing Prize. He writes music journalism, fiction and poetry with a focus on queerness and masculinity. @LiamKonemann Author of: *The Appendix: Transmasculine Joy in a Transphobic Culture.*

**Selin Bucak** is a Turkish-British freelance journalist, currently based in Paris. She was the editor of Private Equity News at Dow Jones, and news editor of specialist B2B publication Citywire Wealth Manager. She writes about a variety of topics from finance and sustainability to gender diversity and human rights issues in Turkey.
Author of: *The Last Day Before Exile.*

**Zara Rahman** is a British-Bangladeshi researcher and writer based in Berlin. She has worked in civil society to support activists from around the world to support context-driven and thoughtful uses of technology and data. She has held fellowships at Stanford University and the Harvard Kennedy School, and is a trustee at Saheli, a charity providing support and refuge to women of colour fleeing domestic abuse. Author of: *Machine Readable Me.*

Anthologies

Meet the authors part of our anthologies or collaborative works.

**GATHERING (2024)**
*Gathering* will be an essay anthology of nature writing by women of colour from across the UK. The collection, edited by Durre Shahwar and Nasia Sarwar-Skuse, considers nature, landscape and the climate and is set to be “personal, moving, convincing, creative, fierce and everything in between” and a welcome addition to the growing and vibrant expansion of nature writing.