Henry Eliot describes himself as an author, editor and insatiable bookworm and has ransacked the libraries and archives of world literature compiling hundreds of bookish lists. He is the author of The Penguin Classics Book, The Penguin Modern Classics Book, Follow This Thread, and Curiocity: An Alternative A-Z of London. He has tackled a number of bookish adventures, such as recreating Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, leading pilgrims from Southwark to Canterbury and retelling the tales.  His book, Eliot’s Book of Bookish Lists, is said to contain “the sublime to the ridiculous – and everything in between, nuggets of trivia which will delight, inspire and surprise anyone who loves reading.”

Henry also hosted On the Road with Penguin Classics, the podcast that takes a stroll around the world’s favourite books. In each of the 30 episodes, he travelled to a different literary location to explore a great book in the company of a remarkable reader. Henry is the fourth in a great series of Penguin speakers at the Festival, covering topics such as book blurbs, cover design and editing.