Featured Influential Writer:

Eckhart Tolle At the age of 29, Eckhart Tolle apparently experienced a profound inner transformation that radically changed the course of his life. The next few years were devoted to understanding, integrating and deepening that transformation, which marked the beginning of an intense inward journey.

Today, he is one of the world’s most acclaimed spiritual teachers and authors, and according to his website, his work is 'in response to the urgent need of our times: the transformation of consciousness and the arising of a more enlightened humanity'.

Previously Featured Influential Writers:

Cecily von Ziegesar Cecily von Ziegesar is an American author of young adult novels. More specifically, she is the author of the ‘Gossip Girl’ books, a series about a group of rich Manhattan teenagers and their adventures with sex, drugs, and alcohol.

Her books have been criticized as nothing more than the written equivalent of a soap opera, but Von Ziegesar herself attended one of the smart private schools in Manhattan, and many of the tales told in Gossip Girl have a ring of authenticity. Her fans also believe that Von Ziegesar speaks honestly about the contemporary teen life.

Sebastian Faulks English author Sebastian Faulks does his writing in his study situated in a top floor flat of a house near Holland Park Avenue, ten minutes from his home. He starts working at 10am and finishes at 6pm, regardless of whether he is writing a book or not. With such dedication, it is not difficult to see why Faulks is such a success.

His first novel, A Trick of the Light, was published in 1984. Faulks says about this period, ‘I found it extremely difficult to get going as a novelist. When I wrote A Trick of the Light, I’d already written two novels and thought if I can’t get this one published, that’s it.'

Gregory Maguire When asked where he gets his ideas, Maguire responds, ‘I try to keep the soil of my mind moist and rich by feeding it with other people’s inventions (good books, movies, not so much with TV, except occasionally The Simpsons), and with a steady variety of different experiences.

Trips to new places, meetings with friends old and new, time spent in memory. I use a journal to help me remember and record what I see and feel.’

Cathy Kelly Cathy Kelly is the internationally acclaimed author of ten novels. She always knew that writing novels was what she wanted to do. ‘I was a news reporter and film critic when I began to write my first novel. I decided to write the sort of book I’d like to read myself.’

Kelly’s first novel, Woman to Woman (1997) tells the story of best friends Aisling and Jo who seem to have it all. Aisling is happy with her editor husband and little son, and Jo has a great career and gorgeous boyfriend. But one morning Aisling finds a receipt for expensive lingerie in her husband’s pocket and Jo finds a blue line on her pregnancy testing kit...