Jan Woolf

Jan Woolf is an artist, writer and political activist. Four of her plays have been produced and two of her short story collections published. She sits on the theatre committee of the Writers Guild.   Jan has held writers’ residencies at the Hackney Empire, Marx Memorial Library and Hampstead school of Art. She has worked as an art and special needs teacher, events producer, political activist, film classifier, editor and publisher and writes regularly for several papers. She has also  painted throughout her life and will have an exhibition at the Tavistock Centre Gallery, London in December 2024. Like Dorothy Parker,  Jan 'hates writing, but loves having written.’ 

Nick Tyson

Nick founded The Regency Town House project in Brighton (www.rth.org.uk) and still works as the institution's Curator. He has a strong interest in traditional building materials and practice and extensive experience of conducting historic building analysis.  Nick has led the development of several innovative IT-based systems for use in the cultural heritage sector and has interests in topics such as biochemistry, molecular genetics, the history of science, and Georgian trade and commerce, and when not working Nick spends much of his free time, on, in and under the sea.

Gawain Little

Gawain Little is General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions, a democratic organisation responsive to the needs of affiliated trade unions. It aims to improve the lives of working people and their communities.

He has written widely on education and trade unionism, and co-authored a number of books including Global Education Reform: Building resistance and solidarity and Beyond the Blockade: Education in Cuba and Lessons in Organising: What Trade Unionists Can Learn from the War on Teachers.

John Higgs

John Higgs is a distinguished writer, novelist and cultural historian who specialises in finding previously unsuspected narratives, hidden in obscure corners of our history and culture.   He is the author of the acclaimed books William Blake Now: Why He Matters More Than Ever (2019) and William Blake vs the World (2021), of which Terry Gilliam said: “Absolutely wonderful! This book managed to make Blake’s mind and mythology understandable to me at last – for that I am truly grateful.”.

In June 2024, after a visit to the cottage, John wrote on his blog about the cottage, its importance and the parlous state it is in.

Steve Connor

Steven Connor is Director of Research of the Digital Futures Institute, King’s College, London. He is Grace 2 Professor of English Emeritus in the University of Cambridge, and an Emeritus Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge. He was born in Bognor not far from Blake's cottage.