Stephen Abbott is a production co-ordinator for guardian.co.uk

Hassan Abdulrazzak holds a PhD in Molecular Biology. He works as a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College. In 2006, he co-organised the Iraqi Documentary Film Festival at the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas). Baghdad Wedding is his first play.

Marcia Adair is a classical music critic currently living in Canadia.

Robert Adam is an architect, broadcaster and lecturer and the co-founded of Robert Adam Architects.

Owen Adams is a freelance journalist based in the wilds of the Welsh borders.

Richard Adams is a Guardian journalist based in Washington DC.

Esther Addley is a senior reporter on the Guardian.

Jo Adetunji is a Guardian reporter. She lives in London.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the author of Purple Hibiscus, which won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best first book and Half of a Yellow Sun, which won the Orange Broadband prize for fiction.

Segun Afolabi is the author of short story collection A Life Elsewhere and the novel Goodbye Lucille.

John Aizlewood is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and author.

Nick Alexander is the author of 13:55 Eastern Standard Time, published on June 7.

Matthew Alford is a lecturer in the department of Drama: Theatre, Film, and Television at Bristol University and is writing a book about the relationship between Hollywood and US foreign policy. He also writes and performs comedy, notably as one half of the double act Bullett and Gunn."

Tariq Ali has been a leading figure of the international left since the 60s. He has been writing for the Guardian since the 70s. He is a long-standing editor of the New Left Review and a political commentator published on every continent.

Erol Alkan is a dreamer, DJ, producer, etc. And the founder of Trash.

Seán Allan teaches German Literature and Film at the University of Warwick. He has published a wide range of articles on the cinema of the GDR, on the representation of east Germany in contemporary German film. Together with John Sandford, he is co-editor of DEFA. East German Cinema, 1946-1992 (Oxford: Berghahn, 1999).

Esther Allen is Executive Director of the Center for Literary Translation at Columbia University, and Assistant Professor at Baruch College, CUNY.

Paul Allen is a broadcaster and writer, and lives in Sheffield

Mike Anderiesz is a longtime technology writer and humorist with previous lives in the Televoting and Games industries.

Patrick Anderson is a novelist and journalist who reviews crime fiction for the Washington Post. He has published nine novels and four books of nonfiction, including the recent "The Triumph of the Thriller." He was Jimmy Carter's speechwriter in the 1976 presidential campaign and later wrote for officials in the Clinton administration.

Jean-Baptiste Andrea is a French writer and film director.

Kenneth Anger is an American film-maker and writer. As a child he played the changeling prince in the 1935 version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and attended dance school with Shirley Temple. But his reputation principally rests on a number of influential avant-garde films he made in the 1960s, including Scorpio Rising and Invocation of My Demon brother. Anger is also notorious for Hollywood Babylon, his tell-all book about the dark side of the US film industry.

James Anthony works on guardian.co.uk's Culture desk, is an award-winning journalist, and a non-award-winning DJ

Josh Appignanesi is a writer and director. His award-winning feature film Song Of Songs stars Natalie Press (My Summer Of Love, Red Road).

Lisa Appignanesi is a novelist, writer, editor and broadcaster. She has over 15 published works, including the bestselling The Dead Of Winter, and historical works on Simone de Beauvoir and Freud.

Michael Archer is a critic and writer on art, concentrating mainly on the years since 1960.

Eddie Argos is the lead singer of London-based band Art Brut.

Christopher Arkell is the publisher of The London Magazine

Simon Armitage is a British poet, playwright and novelist.

Claire Armitstead is the Guardian's literary editor. She has previously been books editor and arts editor for the Guardian, and is recognised as a leading expert on fringe theatre.

Stephen Armstrong writes for the Guardian, the Sunday Times, GQ, Elle, Wallpaper and the New Statesman, as well as showing up on Radio 4 whenever they let him.

Levi Asher created Literary Kicks, the longest-running literary destination on the internet, in 1994. He also runs a political blog, The Cherry Orchard. He lives in Queens, New York.

Tim joined the Guardian in 1995, and his biography of Strauss was published in 1999.

Radwa Ashour has written seven novels, three collections of short stories, and four books of criticism. She is currently professor of English and comparative literature at Ain Shams University, Cairo.

Hannah Ashwell is the Severn Project manager on behalf of Shropshire County Council. She is also involved in the management of Hat Fair, Winchester, the UK's oldest street arts festival, and was a joint winner of the 2006 International Playwriting festival.

Chris Atkins is a London-based film-maker. He has worked as a producer on three films for writer-director Richard Jobson (Sixteen Years of Alcohol, Sixteen Years and A Woman in Winter) and wrote and directed the low-budget feature Feedback, which premiered at the Edinburgh film festival. His lastest film, Taking Liberties, is a political documentary about the erosion of civil liberties under the Blair government.

Matthew is a producer, performer, and arts marketer based in Bristol. He co-founded performance company The Special Guests and produces Mayfest with Kate Yedigaroff and has worked with various festivals and venues including HighTide, Tobacco Factory, Spike Island and Bristol Old Vic.

Bharat Azad is a freelance journalist who writes on music, film, literature and popular culture.

Jawad Al Assadi was born in Iraq in 947 and is a leading director of theatre in the Arab world. He has written poems, essays on theatre, and several plays, which have been translated into English, Russian and French, including Forget Hamlet, The Bench and Women of War.

Zdenka Badovinac is director of the Moderna Galerija, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana.

Laura Baggaley is a freelance writer and theatre director. She is an associate artist at Company of Angels and artistic director of bagg theatre company

Julian Baggini is a published author, journalist and editor of The Philosophers' Magazine.

Beryl Bainbridge is a writer.

Charles Bainbridge lives in London. He reviews for the Guardian and is a part-time tutor on the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. He co-edits the poetry magazine Angel Exhaust.

Luke Bainbridge is deputy editor of Observer Music Monthly.

Elizabeth Baines is the author of plays, short stories and the novels The Birth Machine and Body Cuts.

Trevor Baker is a music journalist and author of Rock London: The Definitive Guide, and the official book of the second series of I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!, among other publications

Angela Balakrishnan is an economics reporter at the Guardian.

Nancy Banks-Smith is a British television critic; she began writing for The Guardian in 1969. In 1970 she was recommended for the Order of the British Empire, which she rejected.

Lynn Barber is an award-winning British journalist, currently writing for the Observer. She is known for her dry wit and sometimes quite harsh analysis of her interviewees.

Howard Barker is one of Britain's most prolific dramatists. For the last 20 years, he has focused on The Wrestling School, the theatre company founded specifically to produce his work.

Sebastian Barker is the author of

Patrick Barkham is a feature writer for the Guardian. He writes on a variety of topics, including technology, film and television.

Emma Barnes is co-founder and managing director of Snowbooks, an independent book publisher which won the Small Publisher of the Year 2006 Nibbie. Emma and Snowbooks’ Chairman, Rob Jones, blog regularly at www.snowbooks.com/weblog.

Anthony Barnett is the founder of www.openDemocracy.net

David Barnett is a journalist in the north of England and the author of two novels, Hinterland and Angelglass

Laura Barnett is a commissioning editor on the G2 arts desk. Previously at the Daily Telegraph, she writes across the arts, with a particular interest in theatre, dance and world music.)

Nicola Barr is a literary agent at The Susijn Agency in London.

David Barrie is Director of The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity.

CA Barron has written both in captivity and as a freelance in three countries and specialises in the quirks and perplexities at cultural crossroads.

Laura Barton is a Guardian feature writer.

Angus Batey is a published author and regular contributor to Hip Hop Connection.

David Batty is the health correspondent for Guardian Unlimited.

Stephen Bayley is the Observer's design critic.

Nigel Beale is a freelance book reviewer and interviewer based in Ottawa, Canada. He hosts and produces The Biblio File, a radio programme featuring interviews with authors and other book-related professionals. His website can be found at nigelbeale.com

Alistair Beaton’s recent stage plays include Follow My Leader (Birmingham Rep and Hampstead Theatre) and King of Hearts (Hampstead Theatre). His political comedy Feelgood (Garrick Theatre) won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy as well as an Olivier Award nomination. He speaks German, French and Russian and his translations for the theatre include The Government Inspector, La Vie Parisienne and Die Fledermaus. Recent television work includes two screenplays for Channel 4: A Very Social Secretary and The Trial of Tony Blair. He is also author of a number of best-selling books.

Ned Beauman lives in Brighton. He writes for the Guardian and Dazed & Confused and is online editor of Dummy magazine.

Matthew Beaumont is an author, editor and academic.

Sebastian Beaumont is the author of Thirteen.

Anna Beer is a biographer with a particular interest in the relationship between literature, politics and history, and has just completed a new biography of John Milton, due out next year.

Emily Bell is editor in chief of Guardian Unlimited.

Julia Bell is a novelist and lecturer on the MA in creative writing at Birkbeck, University College of London. She has written two novels for young adults: Massive (2002) and Dirty Work (due out in 2007) both published by Young Picador. She is currently working on a longer work of adult fiction.

Artists Ben Langlands & Nikki Bell have been collaborating since 1978. They explore the web of relationships linking people and architecture, and the coded systems of circulation and exchange which surround us. They are based in London.

Alex Bellos is an expert on Brazillian football.

Melissa Benn writes regularly for the Guardian and other newspapers and magazines on a wide range of social issues, including education.

Tony Bennett is an artist described by the late Frank Sinatra as "the best singer in the business."

David Bennun is the author of the books Tick Bite Fever, and British As A Second Language.

Jes Benstock is an award-winning British film-maker.

Sami Bentil is a Ghanaian artist whose work has received great recognition and acclaim in Ghana, as well as in other parts of the world.

Louis de Bernieres’s fourth novel, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin became a worldwide bestseller in 1994. His latest is A Partisan’s Daughter.

Emily Berry is a freelance copy editor and poet. She occasionally reviews books, plays and breakfasts.

Julie Bertagna is an award-winning writer and journalist for the Scottish press.

Kate Bevan is a freelance journalist who lives in London and has written for pretty much anyone who will pay her, including the FT, Hello!, the Sunday Telegraph and of course the Guardian.

Sudha Bhuchar is artistic director of the Tamasha Theatre Company

Emily Bick's background is in fantastic literatures and she has lectured in media and cultural studies at Roehampton University. She has also written on film and media for Frieze, Contemporary, Mute, and Plan B.

Sean Bidder is editor of FACT magazine.

Bidisha is a writer and broadcaster. Her next novel, Venetian Masters, will be published early in 2008.

Michael Billington joined the Guardian as theatre critic in October 1971. "The man or woman who is bored with theatre is bored with life," he claims.

Clare Birchall is a lecturer at Middlesex University and writes about television and film for The Guardian.

Dea Birkett is a writer and broadcaster.

Alan Bissett is the author of two novels: Boyracers, and The Incredible Adam Spark. He was shortlisted or longlisted for the Macallan/Scotland on Sunday Short Story Competition every year between 1999 and 2002, but never won it - a bit like Kate Winslet at the Oscars

Lethal Bizzle is a rapper from east London.

Nicholas Blincoe is an author, critic and screenwriter. He is a volunteer adviser to Nick Clegg’s leadership campaign.

Adi Bloom is a reporter for the Times Educational Supplement, with responsibility for arts coverage. She is also an unapologetic fan of all things kitsch.

David Bloom is a writer

Nell Boase is the production editor for Guardian Unlimited Arts.

Matt Bolton is a freelance journalist and writes about music, politics and football. He used to be in band, like every other music writer on earth.

Marc Boothe is the founder and director of B3 Media. He is also a independent producer who works across film and digital media

Ian Bostridge CBE is an acclaimed tenor, well known for his performances as an opera singer and as a song recitalist.

Jim Bowen is a stand-up comedian and TV personality. He is best known as the host of the ITV gameshow Bullseye which for 14 years was watched by over 12m viewers.

Frank Cottrell Boyce is a British screenwriter and novelist.

Jack Bradley is literary manager at the National Theatre and an occasional playwright.

Lloyd Bradley is one of the major British writers on black music, from funk to reggae.

Matthew Bradley has recently completed a D.Phil on Victorian decadence. He has previously published reviews for the TLS and other journals, and is currently teaching at the University of Oxford.

Peter Bradshaw is the Guardian's film critic.

Will Brady is a freelance graphic designer. He also writes occasionally, and is based in Edinburgh.

Harriet Bridgeman is chair of the Bridgeman Art Library

James Bridle, one of the organisers of the London Lit Plus, is also a contributor to booktwo.org, where he writes aabout literature and technology.

Marcus Brigstocke is a comedian, writer and broadcaster.

Emma Brockes is a writer for the Guardian and her first book, What Would Barbra Do? is out next year.

Vida Bromby-Tavenner is a freelance arts and lifestyle journalist from Manchester

Libby Brooks is deputy comment editor of the Guardian.

Xan Brooks is associate editor of guardian.co.uk

Nick Broomfield is a British film-maker best known for his iconoclastic, award-winning documentaries.

Sylvia Brownrigg's published work includes Ten Women Who Shook the World, The Metaphysical Touch, Pages for You, and her newest novel, The Delivery Room (2006).

Anna Bruce-Lockhart is the editor of the Guardian's expatriate website, Guardian Abroad.

Catherine Bruton is a writer and journalist

James Buchan is a former Riyadh correspondent of the Financial Times.

Hermione is an arts writer with a particular interest in theatre and contemporary fiction.

Oliver Bullough has recently moved to London from Moscow.

Madeleine Bunting is a columnist and associate editor on the Guardian. She has reported and commented on Islam and the British Muslim community for more than 10 years, first as religious affairs editor and more recently on the Guardian's comment pages and Comment is free.

John Burgess writes dance music reviews for the Guardian most Fridays, founded Jockey Slut magazine (RIP) and is now associate editor of Dummy. He also promotes the long running techno night Bugged Out and power ballads night Erection Section (one club is busier than the other).

Sarah Burnett is a writer living in Edinburgh. She worked in London and Brussels as a financial journalist before moving to Scotland. She recently wrote a chapter on Thomas Hardy in the anthology Common Ground.

John Burnside is a poet and novelist.

Richard Butchins has been a journalist, photographer, and filmmaker for more years than he cares to recount.

Antonia Byatt is director of literature strategy at Arts Council England.

Will Byers teaches music to primary and secondary pupils in Camden as well as undertaking various session jobs and dreaming of becoming a country and western singer

Carole Cadwalladr is a journalist and was the lead travel writer for the Daily Telegraph, and now writes for the Observer and Guardian.

Michael Caines works at the Times Literary Supplement.

Publisher and bookseller, John Calder is celebrated for bringing experimental and controversial world literature - from Samuel Beckett to Eugene Ionesco to Marguerite Duras - to an English language readership.

Duncan Campbell is a senior correspondent with the Guardian where he has worked since 1987.

Jonathan Caouette is the director of the documentary Tarnation

Andy Capper is the Editor of Vice Magazine. He likes sunshine, friends, kittens, puppies and getting caught in the rain with friends and kittens. He has a GSOH. LOL!

Ally Carnwath writes on books, music and television for the Observer.

Alan Carr is a television presenter and comedian

Rory Carroll is a Guardian foreign correspondent.

Tim Carroll began his career with the English Shakespeare Company before becoming associate director of the Northcott Theatre in Exeter (1994-5). From 1999 to 2005, he was associate director of Shakespeare’s Globe where he directed Twelfth Night, Richard II, Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest, among others. His first opera production, Britten's The Prodigal Son, was for Kent Opera in 1994. He is now director of productions for Kent Opera, for whom he has staged Purcell in the Theatre, Monteverdi’s Orfeo , Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Britten’s Albert Herring. He last worked with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in 2005 on a semi-staged production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Augustus Casely-Hayford is a Curator and cultural historian and Executive Director, Arts Strategy, of Arts Council England.

Pete Cashmore writes for the Guardian's the Guide.

Barry Castagnola is a comedian, actor and writer, and one third of Cyderdelic.

Ali Catterall is a staff writer for Film4.com and writes Movie Rush, Film4's movie reviews show. He has also worked for Channel 4, the BBC and The Guardian, and is the co-author of Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since the Sixties.

Edward Champion is a Brooklyn writer and host of the literary blog Return of the Reluctant.

Yung Chang is a Canadian filmmaker.

Toby Chasseaud is a subeditor at Guardian Unlimited.

Tracy Chevalier is the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, Falling Angels and The Lady and the Unicorn.

Ben Child is guardian.co.uk/film's resident newshound, and also posts daily for the Film blog on topical issues