Retford Book Festival

7 June 2026

Book festivals are so important for connecting readers with authors, and vice versa. Writing can sometimes be a lonely pursuit, and I value every opportunity to engage with book lovers and celebrate the history of women in British Intelligence.

On Sunday, I spoke to a full house at Retford Book Festival and treated them to a short reading from the end of the Prologue of Her Secret Service: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

The last few lines gave me chills when I first heard them and still do when I read or speak them. It was the moment I knew there was a story to be told:

Towards the end of the conversation, Richard half-joked about Kathleen being 'Miss Moneypenny'. Without hesitation, she responded: 'I was Miss Moneypenny, but with more power.'

You can read all about the trailblazing MI6 woman, Kathleen Pettigrew, in my debut book, out now in paperback and available at all good bookshops.

The event was supported by the award-winning Wonderland Bookshop.