Antonia Fraser; Stephen K Amos; Inua Ellams; Christopher Somerville

Midweek

Writer Lady Antonia Fraser; comic and actor Stephen K Amos; travel writer Christopher Somerville and poet Inua Ellams join Libby Purves.

Stephen K Amos is a comedian and actor. His Radio 4 series What Does the K Stand For? tells the story of his teenage years in 1980s South London. Stephen's parents came from the same town in south-west Nigeria, but met as adults in Lagos and emigrated to the UK in the late 1960s. Stephen is currently performing his new stand-up show. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every year since 2003, after making his début in 2001. During the 2006 Fringe, he performed the revealing solo show All of Me, in which he publicly acknowledged his own homosexuality to his audience for the first time. What Does the K Stand For? is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

Antonia Fraser is a writer and award-winning biographer. In 1978 she made a trip to Israel with her late husband, the playwright Harold Pinter. In her book, Our Israeli Diary, she recalls their experiences visiting the country during the 30th year of its founding - the first time either of them had travelled to Israel. She writes about the underlying tensions facing the country and their experiences spending time at some of its historically significant sites, revealing insights into the couple's relationship along the way. Our Israeli Diary - Of That Time, Of That Place is published by Oneworld.

Christopher Somerville is a travel writer and the walking correspondent for The Times. In his latest book, The January Man, he retraces the paths he first walked along with his late father, John. His father was a senior civil servant at GCHQ in Cheltenham who never spoke about his work or his wartime experiences, but was a great walker. It was through their shared love of walking that father and son developed a bond that lasted until John's death. The January Man - A Year of Walking Britain is published by Doubleday.

Inua Ellams is a poet and playwright who won the Edinburgh Fringe First Award in 2009 with his play The 14th Tale. Born in Nigeria to a Muslim father and a Christian mother, his latest one-man show, An Evening with an Immigrant, tells his story - of leaving Nigeria to performing solo shows at the National Theatre, all the while without a country to belong to or place to call home. An Evening with an Immigrant is touring the UK beginning at Brighton Dome.

Producer: Paula McGinley.