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Well, so I think we'll start by hearing from our fantastic panel.

I mean, this really is such a rare opportunity to have a set of people like this all together in one line.

But I will make sure that we have time for a good

chunk of questions from you at the end too. So yes, let me introduce these wonderful people.

This is Mary Kay Wilmers, who has been the editor of the London Review of Books for almost 25 years.

Is that right? I don't know.

Sorry. Maybe that's not correct, but since 1992, two or three, two or three years. A magazine she co-founded in 1979 with Carl Miller of UCL English, which is a nice little link there.

Mary Kay is perhaps best introduced by the magazine that you all have in front of you.

Those pages, which on the website of the LRB, I think this puts it the best,

stand up for the tradition of the literary and intellectual essay in English are some of the most

various in-depth, serious, delightful and powerful to be found around. The magazine combines

topicality, fearless takes on the events of the day with depth of scholarship from some of the

best minds around

and truly excellent prose. This should not be forgotten. No, no, this is what I say. This is what I say.

And next, Andrew Hagen is one of the LRB's editors, in fact, described rather romantically, I think, as editor at large.

That sounds very elusive, sort of spy-like, I think.

His most recent novel, The Illuminations, which came out last year, was long listed for the Booker Prize,

an honour he's received twice before also, and is being turned into a drama serial for the BBC.

He was selected as one of Grant's best young novelists in 2003

and has won the LA Times Book Award and the E.M. Foster Award.

I think it will be really interesting to hear from Andrew today

...