Sinoist Books is a UK-based independent press that publishes only the best in translated Chinese literature and contemporary fiction.

Our mission is to act as a bridge between the Chinese and English-speaking worlds, so that the best Sinophone authors and their works can transcend the language barrier.

Steve Sheppard was born and grew up in Surrey before moving to Buckinghamshire and then to Oxfordshire, where he spent a quarter of a century living in an idiosyncratic village that was the affectionate inspiration for his fourth book, Lazytown. He now lives in Hampshire. He spent forty years starting to write books but not finishing them, until belatedly realising that the key is not to give up. The other thing he has since learned is that he should have become a celebrity before writing a book, as this would have made selling it much easier.

False Connections, Steve’s fifth book, was published in June and is the first to be written as a straight thriller and not primarily as a comedy although, don’t worry, there’s still quite a lot of humour in it. He hopes it will be the first of a series featuring feisty, funny but flawed ex-MI5 agent, Mel Milano. He also has three spy thrillers with laughs to his name, all published by Claret Press: A Very Important Teapot (2019), set in Australia, Bored to Death in the Baltics (2021), not set in Australia, and Poor Table Manners (2024), which takes place in Cape Town. These feature an initially fairly hapless hero, Dawson, and a considerably less hapless heroine, Lucy, together with varied supporting casts, most of whom are not who they claim to be. Steve’s fourth book (as mentioned above) is an out-and-out comedy-murder-mystery, Lazytown (2025).

After 40 years (and counting!) of writing scientific papers, books and patents where almost every sentence needs to be justified with a reference, I suppose I longed for being able to write something which did not have any boundaries. Having recently become a part-time consultant scientist and with all four children having now left our house, there is some time for me to let my mind wander through those things that do not need to be proved; do not have to be true. But the scientist in me hasn’t allowed me to stray that far from the truth or reality and that’s pretty much how I ended up writing ‘A Painkiller to Die For’ (2025). This was my second published novel after ‘A Practical Arrangement’ which came out towards the end of 2023 under the nom de plume of Verity Trevethan.

My third novel, ‘The Disappearance of Sarah Griffiths,’ has a publication date of 28th November and also has a smattering of science running through the plot. My editor has labelled this book as ‘Gone Girl meets Breaking Bad’ and I think I can see where she is coming from. It is a dark, domestic noir based around a young married couple whose comfortable existence is crumbling around them. The life changing events lead to the wife’s disappearance and a criminal investigation looking into the death of a small-time drug dealer. The novel asks questions to just how far we’ll go to protect the ones we love and the lives we’ve built and what we become when they start to fall apart.

I am a writer of humorous speculative fiction, children’s fiction and short stories. Successes include winning the Writers’ Forum Magazine short story competition, and having a story highly commended in the Yeovil Literary Festival international short story competition.

Until the world catches up with the idea that I’m a writer, I work in a pharmacy.

Prof. Elena Ene Drăghici-Vasilescu teaches and researches in the fields of Late Antiquity and Medieval Studies (Philosophy, Art History, History of Ideas). Most recently her work has focused on Mediterranean culture.

She has a DPhil/PhD in Arts from the University of Oxford and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Dr. Vasilescu is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences.

She has published books and articles with Oxford University Press, Palgrave, Routledge, Peeters and Vasilescu Academic Oxford (her own publishing house).

Among her latest books are ‘Michelangelo, the Byzantines, and Plato’ (2021, second revised edition 2025); ‘Byzantine and Medieval Cappadocia’ (2024), ‘Creation and Time. Byzantine and Moder’ (2021), ‘Glimpses into Byzantium. Its Philosophy and Arts’ (an anthology of peer-reviewed articles).

Dr. Vasilescu has also published chapters in collective volumes published by Ashgate, Routledge and other well-known publishers. Moreover, Elena Ene Drăghici-Vasilescu published three volumes of poems: ‘Bucuria Verii cu Fluturi/A Summer with Butterflies’ (2025); ‘Tot despre cuvinte’/’About Words Again’ (2026), and ‘E Dreptul Meu’ [‘It is my Right’]

She directed two films: one is titled “Ieşirea din Labirint”/”Escape from the Labyrinth” and the other is based on Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and is titled as such. The latter had its premiere on the 2nd of May, 2026, at the Ultimate Picture Palace cinema in Oxford.

Emma.R.Schofield is a British fantasy writer whose debut book, The Nature of Shadow, came out in March this year. It is the first of a Literary High Fantasy series for five, the second of which, Anhame, will also (fingers crossed) be available at the fair.

The Nature of Shadow is a Literary High Fantasy series is for people who love myth and magic, dragons and sword-fighting, and walking the path of story with a frighteningly powerful protagonist who nevertheless faces entirely human struggles. Low on violence and sex, it is suitable for fantasy lovers from young adult to long-retired elder.

Book 1: The Nature of Shadow
Anhame, the Hall under the six point star, is the only place Lia can learn how to use her terrifying powers. But to take the oath, and to pass through the trials, she must conceal the darkness that is her nature. How long can she hide her dark secret from the Masters of her craft? And if they find out, what will they do to ensure she is not a danger to everyone around her?

Book 2: Anhame
The only way that Lia’s powers will reach their full potential is if she passes through the trials. What will Fate place in her path to test her higher senses to their limits? And has she learned enough, is she powerful enough, to escape the terrifying deaths that claim those who fail?