Griselda Heppel is an award-winning children’s author, whose stories for age 9 –13 are inspired by myth, magic, Greek legend and a shiver of the supernatural. Her first, Ante’s Inferno, sends 12 year-old Antonia on a journey through the classical Underworld, all the way to the heart of hell itself, to solve a 100 year-old murder mystery.

Ante’s Inferno won The People’s Book Prize and a Gold Wishing Shelf award.

Next, The Tragickall History of Henry Fowst, embroils a 13 year-old boy in Elizabethan magic and the dark arts when he decides that the best way to solve his problems is to make a pact with a smooth-talking demon. What could possibly go wrong? Er, plenty, as Henry soon finds out.

In The Fall of a Sparrow, 11 year-old Eleanor is sent away to a spooky school run by a mysterious great-aunt she has never met. There she’s followed around by a strange, awkward little boy who – to her horror – knows all about her and the past she desperately wants to escape. Unravelling the mystery awakens a long-buried family tragedy, drawing her into deadly danger.

The Fall of a Sparrow won a Bronze Wishing Shelf award and came runner-up in the Rubery Independent Book Awards and the Page-Turner Awards.

“Griselda Heppel is a born storyteller. Your children will love her books and, to be honest, so will you.”
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

Josie Jaffrey (she/her) writes about lost worlds, dystopian societies and morally-ambiguous monsters (vampires are her favourite). Her queer vampire detective novel May Day won the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award 2021. She is the founding editor of fantasy magazine Indie Bites and writer of the urban fantasy podcast Jack Valentine, Vampire Detective.

Beneath the Dust Jacket is a subscription box for lovers of mystery, thriller and crime fiction, built around signed and special edition books. Founded by Hannah, who runs it full-time, each month’s box centres on a carefully chosen title, so subscribers get great reads in editions that feel worth keeping.

At the fair, Hannah will be bringing The Scorpion Palace, Beneath the Dust Jacket’s first exclusive edition, created in partnership with its publisher. She will also have a selection of signed and special editions from previous boxes, so there’s something for every crime and thriller fan, whether you’re after a gift, a treat for your own shelf, or your next favourite read.

You can also find out about the monthly subscription at the stall, or at beneaththedustjacket.com.

I am a children’s author, age group 8-12. I am delighted to be returning to the Oxford Indie Book Fair and look forward to meeting you.

For the past five years I have had the pleasure to write stories about an astonishing place. This place, at the very edge of the world, is the mysterious, undiscovered Island of Animaux. Full of the strangest creatures having crazy, mad, funny adventures.

I would love to introduce you to the principal characters: Aubrey the Turkey; Clifford Platypus; and Walli Hog. They’re firm friends, although Clifford and Walli always need to keep an eye on the infamous Aubrey, as he plans his next dastardly adventure.

The series contains six books, each with five separate tales:
• The Island of Animaux
• Monsieur Le Chef
• A Surprise Party
• Coffee and Ice Cream
• The Other Side
• Who’s There?

I think you will really enjoy the stories. And don’t be afraid to laugh, particularly at Aubrey’s expense. But please, please, please – remember to keep the latest location of the island top secret!

kOrky Paul was born in Harare Zimbabwe where he enjoyed a wild and privileged childhood in the veldt.

He studied Fine Arts at Durban Art School, and Film Animation at CalArts, California. Known for illustrating Winnie and Wilbur series, by Valerie Thomas, published in 44 languages with sales of 10 million.

kOrky regularly visits schools promoting his passion for drawing.

kOrky works in Oxford, lives in Greece.

Strange Region is a publisher of experimental writing by artists, novelists and poets.

​They endeavour to use publishing as a collaborative tool to celebrate writing as performance, as architecture, as a mechanical component of creative practice and as a space to enjoy the perilous corners of the human experience.

​They were established in 2022 and are based in Bristol, UK.