The Academy is led by practising writers and has extensive contacts in the industry through the NAW Board of Trustees, Patrons and Partners. 

Director 

Richard Beard has published four novels and three books of creative nonfiction.  The novel Damascus was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and Muddied Oafs was short-listed for the British Sports Book Awards.   In 2008 he was short-listed for the BBC National Short Story Award and in 2010 long-listed for the inaugural Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.

Course Co-ordinator

Rena Brannan was born in Seoul, Korea and grew up in the United States.  She has been short-listed for the Harper’s Bizarre/Orange Short Story Competition, the Mslexia Short Story Competition, Yellow Voices Play Writing Competition, and the BBC 10-Minute Shorts Competition. In 2006 she co-produced Henry Green’s Nothing at the 59 E 59 Theater for the annual Brit’s Off Broadway Festival in New York. 

Honorary President

Ion Trewin was literary editor of The Times before becoming a publisher with Hodder & Stoughton and then Weidenfeld & Nicolson, where he was managing director and editor in chief.   His own books include the highly praised Alan Clark: The Biography, and since 2005 he has been literary director of the Man Booker Prizes. 

Chair

Francis Bennett has worked in publishing for over forty years. In 1987 he co-founded Book Data, and was its Managing Director until 2005. He has served as Vice-Chairman of the Book Development Council, Chairman of the Society of Bookmen and has received a British Book Award 'Lifetime Achievement'.  He is currently Deputy Chairman of Yale University Press in the UK. He is the author of three novels.

Board 

 Mary Tapissier has worked in academic journals, Children's and Religious Publishing and Corporate Publishing Management.  She was a Director of Hodder Headline Ltd, and following her retirement has served as a Trustee of the Poetry Book Society and chaired ABPTOE (the Association of Bookseller and Publishing Training of Europe).  

George Brock is Professor and Head of Journalism at City University London. He worked at The Times for 28 years. He is a board member of the World Editors Forum, a member of the British committee of the International Press Institute, and a governor of the Ditchley Foundation. He broadcasts and lectures frequently and reviews for the Times Literary Supplement.

Mark Featherstone-Witty is the Founding Principal/CEO of The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).  He created and was Senior Educational Advisor for The BRIT School, is a Board Member of The Liverpool Royal Court Theatre Trust, Assistant Editor for Macmillan Education, and Consultant Education Editor for Quartet Books.  He is also a freelance journalist and author of two books.

David Roberts is Professor and Head of English at Birmingham City University. His latest book is a biography of the actor Thomas Betterton for Cambridge University Press (2010). He writes programme essays for the Royal Opera House, is a Fellow of the English Association and sits on the board of the Higher Education Academy English Subject Centre.