Our hosts

Matthew Harffy

Matthew Harffy is the author of action-packed, historically accurate stories. He has published fifteen novels to date. All of them, with the exception of Dark Frontier, which takes place in 1890s Oregon, are set during the early medieval period.

His longest-running series, The Bernicia Chronicles, follows the warrior Beobrand in seventh-century Britain. The A Time for Swords series, set at the dawn of the Viking Age, charts the journeys of monk-turned-warrior, Hunlaf. His standalone novel, Wolf of Wessex, unfolds in the ninth century and was described by The Times as “a treat of a book.”

As well as being a full-time author, Matthew is co-host of the Rock, Paper, Swords! podcast. He lives in Wiltshire with his wife, their two daughters, and a slightly mad dog.

Justin Hill

Justin Hill is an international author, whose award-winning work spans eras as distant from one another as modern China, in The Drink and Dream Teahouse, 11th century Europe, in Viking Fire, and Eritrea, East Africa, in Ciao Asmara.

In 2014 he was selected to write the novelisation of the sequel to the Oscar-winning film, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. His Conquest Series (Shieldwall and Viking Fire) re-examines the narratives of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The Independent on Sunday selected him as one of the Top Twenty Young British Authors.

Justin has spoken at international conferences on mediaeval studies and the Viking world.

He is the creator and writer of the popular Minka Lesk character for Games Workshop’s Black Library. His work has won many prizes and has been translated into 17 languages.