Tony has lived in the Ipswich area for over 30 years. He is a Chartered Global Management Accountant and is currently one of the two main shareholders and Finance Director of the Monthind Holdings Group, An East Anglian based commercial cleaning company.

Tony is a member of the Red Rose Chain Board of Trustees, an Ipswich based theatre company which actively looks to support disadvantaged individuals within the community.

Tony regularly DJ’s at venues across Suffolk, music being a lifetime passion.

Tony is a member of the Dial Lane Book Group, and enjoys a good book on architecture and design.

Cathy is an independent retailer, her business Loveone is situated in the Saints area of Ipswich, opened in 2007 and celebrating 18 years on the High Street. She is one of the co-founders of the Saint’s Street Markets which started in 2011 and are still running on St Peter’s Street supporting local artisans and designers.

An entrepreneur, Cathy is passionate about small business, the power of community, and Ipswich. She is currently a Labour Local Councillor for Ipswich Borough Council.

She is a trustee of the New Wolsey Theatre , after books, theatre is another passion.

A lifelong reader and is open to reading all genres, Cathy is a member of two book groups including the Dial Lane Book Group.

Emma has lived and worked in Ipswich since returning from University. She has degrees in Zoology, Animal Behaviour and in 2019 gained her third [and final] one in Psychology and Sociology from University of Suffolk.

She has worked in many sectors including writing books on rabbit behaviour and proof reading magazines. Currently managing the family business , Orwell Lady, a passenger boat that has operated from Ipswich Waterfront since 2001.

Emma is currently a governor at a local state secondary school and is passionate about learning and reading.

A keen reader all her life, Emma is a member of the Dial Lane Book Group.

Andrew originally from London is the man at the helm of Dial Lane Books, Ipswich’s only indie bookshop.

Andrew is passionate about books and reading, and has worked closely with local schools and the University of Suffolk.

He hosts the monthly Dial Lane book group, as well as a children’s book group and a home group.

At Dial Lane Books, Andrew will frequently host authors, in the shop for signings and book launches, as well as arranging author visits to schools.

He has a particular passion for Japanese literature. When not buying, selling or reading books Andrew is a prolific fundraiser, supporting many local charities.

Eva’s writing – like Eva herself - is an absolute breath of fresh air, in that she writes about real people, real women and real lives, in a way that screams ‘I’m just telling it like it is’. Identity, race, class and female rage are recurring themes in her books – themes that Eva writes about so clearly and passionately.

Both of Eva’s book group attendances in Dial Lane Books have been hugely popular and well attended. Andrew said “Eva and I hit it off from the very first moment we met at a Wolsey Writer’s gig three years ago, where she was speaking about her debut novel, the utterly brilliant Lives Like Mine, and we continue to think of each other in a ‘brother from another mother’ or ‘sister from another mister’ way. I can remember just how overcome and surprised Eva was on her first book group visit, by the love and affection she felt from those that were present, because she does not take any of this for granted and will never not be thankful and grateful that people want to buy and read her books.”

Born in East London, Eva mentors emerging writers both independently and through the Black Girl Writers programme and she has also judged for the Laura Kinsella and Sid Chaplin awards. Eva lives in Essex with her husband, daughters and their dog.

By Eva Verde: Lives Like Mine, In Bloom, and Them Girls (published August 2025)

*Eva’s love song to libraries – I Am Not Your Tituba – forms part of Kit De Waal’s Common People: An Anthology of Working Class Writers.

*Her short story Purpose was included in the Reading Agency’s World Book Night anthology.

*Eva’s words have featured in Marie Claire, Grazia, Elle, Women’s Health and The Big Issue.

Frances is a hugely accomplished and exceptional writer, and her stories are about real people in real scenarios, with real emotions. Frances has a way of telling stories that means that they can - and do - appeal to a very wide demographic, and as a result, all three of her novels are widely regarded as brilliant. Much the same can be said for the woman that wrote them.

Andrew said “I never really read historical fiction until I picked up Frances’ debut The Smallest Man a couple of years ago because I had chosen it as my second book group title in Dial Lane Books, and Frances herself was to be joining us. Not only didI absolutely love the story and the way it was written, but I also loved Frances herself pretty much from the moment she entered the shop. And I think everyone else did too. Frances is an honest and true person, and she has a great sense of humour –as well as dubious musical tastes (joking)”.

Born in Forest Gate in East London, Frances studied English at Kings College, Cambridge. Before turning to writing historical fiction, Frances was a journalist, writing for publications including The Guardian, Prima, Ideal Home and Woman’s Weekly. She later branched out into copywriting, producing words for everything from Waitrose pizza packaging to the EasyJet in-flight brochure. Frances currently lives in Brighton with her husband and three Tonkinese cats.

By Frances Quinn: The Smallest Man, That Bonesetter Woman, and The Lost Passenger.

*The Smallest Man was chosen as a Book of the Month by Good Housekeeping.

Matson has been a huge part of Dial Lane Books since the summer of 2020, when he first visited to sign copies of his debut novel – the brilliant – The Miseducation of Evie Epworth.

Nearly five years after its publication, ‘Evie’ continues to be one of the biggest sellers in the shop and has gained cult status among readers and book lovers. And that is testament to Matson’s amazing writing and his craft.

Andrew said, “Matson is never out of the shop, and has visited for book groups, for signings, and on several occasions simply to meet and chat to my customers. He has even donned an orange beanie and worked behind the counter. This was repeated last year when he teamed up with Frances Quinn and they both spent the day serving and chatting to customers.

Getting to witness their hilarious competitiveness and banter was a special thing”.

Matson grew up in Yorkshire (the flat part, not the Brontë part), although he now lives in London, where he studied at Royal College of Art. Matson works simultaneously as a novelist and a design historian, teaching at Imperial College London, as well as doing the odd guest gig at the V&A. He has also worked on Camden Market, appeared in an Italian TV commercial and been a pronunciation coach for Catalan opera singers.

Matson is currently finishing his yet untitled third novel, set in Rome in the mid-70s. He describes it as “another funny book about serious things”, and we can’t wait until it’spublished in the spring of 2026!

By Matson Taylor: The Miseducation of Evie Epworth, All About Evie

* The Miseducation of Evie Epworth was selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and

Richard & Judy book club.

Thomas has visited Dial Lane Books numerous times as well as several schools in Ipswich. Thomas is brilliant at world-building and telling a story that makes you feel as if you are friends with the main characters and that you are right there with them in the thick of their adventures. His books are not only wonderfully crafted, but they are also clever and intelligent.

Andrew said, “The way I talk up and sell this incredible series of books by Thomas in the shop, is usually with something along the lines of ‘I read a lot of children’s fiction, and this is hands down the best I’ve ever read’. I’d only read Malamander for the firs time a couple of years before Thomas came into the shop, but it made such an impact I quickly devoured the rest. It is always an absolute pleasure to see him, to talk about books - and put the world to rights. Seeing children talking to Thomas whilst wearing their Eerie-on-Sea hoodies and clutching well-thumbed copies of his books clearly shows I’m not alone in feeling this way.”

Thomas attended Norwich School of Art and Design, then studied illustration at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. As well as writing the Eerie-on-Sea series, he has also written and illustrated several picture books. It is also a well-known fact, that Thomas’ first commission after art college was the cover illustration for the very first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

By Thomas Taylor: Malamander, Gargantis, Shadowghast, Festergimm and Mermedusa.

*Malamader was nominated for the Carnegie Medal in 2020

*Malamander was shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag awards in 2020

*Malamander won the CrimeFest Award in 2020, and the Awesome Book Awards 2021

Ashley is a phenomenal talent, who to date has published three amazing novels and a poetry collection , that are as different from each other as it’s possible to get, yet still, unmistakenly Ashley.

Ashley has joined the Dial Lane book group twice, and Andrew describes being able to introduce customers to Ashley’s writing as “truly an honour. He is an absolute powerhouse, and it is always a pleasure and an honour to spend time in his company and to talk to him. I remember the day a couple of years ago that Ashley read out an excerpt from his then untitled YA novel – Wild East – in the shop at the end of his first book group visit. I remember the silence. The awe. Everyone literally hung on his every word. And then the collective audible gasp of breath when he was finished. A very special moment and one that will always stay with me.”

Born in London, Ashley has a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of East Anglia, and he has taught Creative Writing at the Arts University Bournemouth, University of East Anglia, University of Suffolk and the University of Cambridge. Ashley regularly facilitates writing workshops, and is also a football referee.

By Ashley Hickson-Lovence: The 392, Your Show, Wild East, and Why I Am Not A Bus Driver (published April 2025)

*Wild East – winner of the East Anglian Book Awards book of the year 2024

*Wild East – nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Writing 2025

*Nominated for Black Excellence Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature

2023