In a sense, all of us are liars. Fiction is a lie; acting is lying. But if you want to know a bit more about the people who make the lies come true, read on ... (In alphabetical order by last name):
LIARS
Michael Caines
works for the Times Literary Supplement. He has edited anthologies of plays by eighteenth-century women and contemporary works about the actor David Garrick, and co-edited books about Shakespeare and the Romantic poets. In 2007 he held a short-term fellowship at the Huntington Library in Los Angeles, and his reviews have appeared in the TLS, the Church Times and the Book Collector. He has also blogged for the Guardian. His adaptation of Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen was performed at Jackson's Lane, Highgate, in 2002.
Cliff Chapman grew up on the Isle of Man, where he did lots of theatrical things before tunnelling out under cover of darkness to London, to train at The Actor Works. He also occasionally directs – including audio books for Fantom Audio. He is single and would like to meet a girl who enjoys long walks, dinner, cinema, and debating whether the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who is set in the 1970s or 1980s.
Cliff is an Actor-Liar and the stories he's read for the League include Kiss-Kill by Steve Wasserman, Investment Opportunities in the Isle of Man by Quintin Forrest and Joe Lean by Bernie Deehan.
Paul Clarke trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, after sacrificing his degree on the altar of Theatre. He has a fondness for grotesques, villains and all-round bad guys – theatre credits include Berkoff’s Decadence (with Sally Phillips), Moon in The Real Inspector Hound, and title roles in Vlad the Impaler, Macbeth, and Pericles – a rare outing as a good guy.
Paul is an Actor-Liar and has performed many stories for us including: "Love is a Frozen God" by Josh McDonald, "Tries to Cook and Eat Gordon Ramsay" by Francois Castile, "The Patience of a Saint" by Jonathan Pinnock, "Christmas Future" by Niall Boyce, "Alternative Navigations" by Nichol Wilmor, "The Torture Orchestra" by Sarah Ellender, "Black Holes, White Dwarfs" by Sam Carter, "The Baron and the Porcelain Throne" by Peter Browning, "Ten Years On" by Rob Ganley, "Rowly's Rabbit" by Graeme McFarlane, "An Account of Six Poisonings" by Nichol Wilmor, "Foul" by Jack Fox, "Hélène and Desire" by Joshan Esfandiari Martin, "The Miller's Tale" by Richard Smyth, Colours by Graham Buchan.
Ben Crystal studied English Language and Linguistics at Lancaster University before training as an actor at Drama Studio London. He has since acted in TV, film, and theatre around the world, including the reconstructed Shakespeare’s Globe, London. He is a narrator for RNIB Talking Books and narrates for Channel 4 and the BBC. He co-wrote Shakespeare’s Words (Penguin 2002) and The Shakespeare Miscellany (Penguin 2005) with David Crystal, and his first solo book Shakespeare on Toast was published in 2008 (Icon).
Ben is our third Actor-Liar (find his credits on our Actors page), as well as Liars' League's usual compere, and regularly gives workshops on performing and speaking Shakespeare. He lives in London. His website is www.bencrystal.com
Katy Darby studied English at Oxford University and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, where she received the David Higham Award. Her work has won prizes, been read on BBC Radio, and appeared in magazines and anthologies including Stand, Mslexia, The London Magazine and the Fish & Arvon anthologies.
Katy is a Writer-Liar: she teaches Short Story Writing and Novel Writing at City University, London, and her first novel, The Whores' Asylum, was published by Penguin in February 2012. Her personal website is www.katydarby.com.
Liam Hogan has been Liars' League's MVP (Writer) for two years running, and has now earned his promotion to full Liar status. He promises still to submit, but not vote for, his own stories.
Liam is a Writer-Liar and stories he's written for Liars' League and Liars' League Leeds include: "How to Build a Mass Murderer" (read by Clive Greenwood), "Commuters' Tails" (read by Silas Hawkins), "He Does Not Know" (read by Ben Crystal), "Bob, Justbob" (read by Silas Hawkins), "Stalemate" (read by Freddie Machin), "The King's Computer" (read by Ben Crystal), "Rat" (read by Silas Hawkins), "The Tasting Menu" (read by Lucie Howard), "Remembrance Day" (read by Will Goodhand), "Sunset" (read by Saul Reichlin), Last Blood, First Ink (read by David Rees), "How the Elephant Fell" (read by Rachel Spicer), and "Temp" (read by David Zezulka).
ASSOCIATE LIARS
Some of our beloved and venerated members no longer live in London (or indeed England), or have just got really busy jobs now - but they still vote on stories, and even drop by occasionally. Keen attendees get extra points for spotting the rare Transatlantic Andrew at one of our London events ...
Tim Aldrich
, a founding member of Liars' League, has written and edited magazine articles and several books including Making the Net Work and About Time. He also advised on the writing of Taking Liberties, the book of the Bafta-nominated documentary. He lives in Oxford with his wife Mariya and two sons.
Paul Comrie read English and Russian as an undergraduate and took an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. He has worked both freelance and as a staff writer in Russia, the Caucasus and India. In 2009 he incorporated an international communications consultancy in Luxembourg, where he works as a ghostwriter for investors, companies and government officials. His fiction has been published in a Canadian anthology and in several publications in Europe and the UK. He is fascinated by writing set in frontiers. He is from Saskatchewan, Canada.
Andrew Lloyd-Jones was born in London, England and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He won the Fish Prize with his story “Feathers and Cigarettes”, and his writing has featured in the Tales of the Decongested anthologies, in the Canongate collection Original Sins and in the Pulp.net anthology Down the Angel. Andrew now lives and writes in New York, where he is a founder of Liars' League NYC.
Tom McKay
has spent the last three years lecturing in Creative Writing and Scriptwriting at Buckinghamshire University. He studied creative writing in the US and got his Master’s from UEA Norwich. He currently lectures at the Open University, and publishes short stories and poetry. He is working on working on his first novel.
David Mildon is an actor and playwright, with an MA in Scriptwriting from the Boston Writers' Program. As an actor, he has appeared in the West End and his work has been staged by Soho Theatre as part of the Westminster Prize readings.
Tessa North has been writing fiction for several years. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, and has also studied in Texas and London. She is currently working on a science fiction novel.
Lucie Whitehouse has worked for high-profile literary agencies since 2002, both helping to develop new writers and selling their work internationally. Her own first novel, The House at Midnight, was published by Bloomsbury in January 2008 and her work has been broadcast on BBC Radio Four. She speaks regularly at conferences and workshops for new writers, and her second novel, The Bed I Made, was chosen for the Channel 4 TV Book Club.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Gaurav Sarin is an architect by training, artist by moonlight and photographer by chance - he like s to explore various creative avenues. He runs his own small and well-formed design studio working on a wide range of projects, from one-off residences to large masterplans. Born in India, he has been in London for just over 10 years now and is loving every minute of it. Can be found at: www.gauravsarin.net
