Our Board & Governance
Our Board give their time, expertise, support, advice, and guidance helping to steer the festival towards it’s charitable goals.
William Bowes
Chair of Trustees - William became Chair of the Festival in March 2025 having joined as a Trustee in 2024. William is a practising lawyer and is currently the General Counsel of a global data analytics company. Prior to this, he spent twenty years working in Publishing and Bookselling, including serving as the General Counsel of Cambridge University Press, Conde Nast and the UK Publishers Association.
Julia Collins
Vice Chair & Chair of Finance Committee - Julia is a Cambridge graduate in Natural Sciences. She is an accountant and former PwC partner and Senior Bursar of Gonville & Caius College. Since retiring Julia has a number of non-executive and trustee roles in education and the arts and is a keen reader and festival goer.
Karen Duffy
Chair - Programming Committee. Karen was Head of Publicity & Associate Publisher at Atlantic Books for 19 years. She now works freelance as a publishing publicist. Karen joined the board of trustees in October 2017. Karen is chair of the recently formed Programming Committee.
Sian Reid
Trustee - Sian has been a trustee of the since 2015. She was a city councillor for Newnham ward and the council’s leader. Sian has an MBA from London Business School and studied French and German at university. She is also a trustee of the Cymmrodorion. Sian is a member of the Finance Committee.
Eleanor Birne
Trustee - Eleanor joined in March 2022. She is a literary agent, with RCW Literary Agency where she represents literary fiction and non-fiction authors. She was Publishing Director at John Murray publishing literary fiction and non-fiction. Eleanor is a member of the Programming Committee.
Kate Kirk
Trustee - Kate joined in February 2024. She is a writer and editor with a 30-year career that began with the World Health Organization and the Asian Development Bank in the Philippines. Kate is Chair of Trustees of palliative care charity Cicely Saunders International and was previously Chair of the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity.
Reneé Etienne
Trustee - Reneé joined the board in 2024, she graduated from ARU and took her PGCE at Homerton College. She is English lead at Milton Road Primary School. She introduced Year 5 school librarians, who manage the day-to-day running of the library, run book clubs and review children’s literature. She is part of a local community art group, Cambridge Black Creatives, a unique arts group supporting black creative people in Cambridge.
Tim Harvey-Samuel
Trustee -Tim joined the board in 2024. He is Bursar at Trinity Hall. He had a city career in banking (Schroders and Citibank) prior to becoming Bursar of Corpus Christi in 2013 and then moving to Trinity Hall in 2020. His primary interest outside of work is reading (and various sports). He is a trustee of Swaffham Bulbeck Community Land Trust and Jules Thorn Charitable Trust.
Miranda Smith
Company Secretary - Miranda joined as Company Secretary in June 2023. She is College Secretary at Downing College and Director of Cambridge-based environmental consultancy Specto Natura Ltd. Previously she had careers in TV documentaries and the Diplomatic Service. She loves a good read with her book group, the local pub quiz, and a hike in the hills.
The Charity Commission
The objects of the Company are the advancement of education for the benefit of the public by the promotion of literature, language and the arts in particular through a literary festival in Cambridge, and such other activities as the members of the Management Committee shall from time to time determine.
View our Charity Commission details.
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