meet the team

Sam founded the Festival in 2017, working alongside fellow writer Marcia Woolf, and has been the Festival Director and co-curator ever since. A former Whitehall Civil Servant, Sam is the winner of the 2019 Fiction Factory national short story competition and has published one book with a small press, the darkly comic fantasy thriller Angels of Islington (“unique and totally brilliant” – Breakaway Reviewers. Sam has always had a passion for books and the written word. In her day job, Sam is Group Head of Programme Delivery for Medica plc. If she has any spare time, you can find her at her beach hut.

Wayne volunteered at the first festival and has been involved in the Steering Group ever since. In 2019 he stepped up to become one of the festival directors. Wayne’s background is in sales and marketing, and he has used that experience to propel the reach of the festival’s events and competitions. He co-curates the festival with Sam Davey and is also responsible for fundraising and community engagement. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Kent and is working on a novel. If he’s not engaged in the above, then you’ll find him on the beach with the two best-looking cockerpoos in East Sussex! Wayne says ‘I believe passionately that everyone should have access to the written word and whether that’s as a writer or reader it’s so important for our wellbeing. Writing and reading are fundamental to our everyday lives and provide the perfect canvas to escape. I want the festival to reach all of our community and I believe there is a part for everyone to play.’