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Philip has written over 70 books including his popular series for children featuring Eddie Dickens. Philip is justly proud of his beard, so The Verb has asked him to delve into The Language of Beards, and consider all the things a beard can do for a writer. His latest book for children is ‘The Grunts all at Sea’ (Nosy Crow).

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Tishani is a writer and dancer whose work is inspired by her Welsh and Gujarati heritage. As part of a series of contemporary retellings of the Welsh epic The Mabinogion, Tishani has written ‘Fountainville’ (Seren), which gives a name and a voice to the women at the centre of the story ‘The Lady of the Fountain’.

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The Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard’s ‘My Struggle’ series examines his own life with brutal honesty. The third volume ‘Boyhood Island’ (Harvill Secker) has just been translated into English. Knausgaard explains how the series began with a desire to write about his father, how using the material of his own life helps him write ‘existentially’, and why some people are more difficult to write about than others.

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The songwriter Gareth Bonello performs as The Gentle Good. His most recent album is ‘Y Bardd Anfarwol’ (Bubble Wrap), which translates as ‘The Immortal Bard’. In this collection of songs, Gareth narrates the story of the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, recorded following a visit to China. Gareth explains how he discovered strange familiarities between Chinese and Welsh culture.

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