John Callow is a writer, screenwriter, and historian, specialising in Seventeenth Century politics, witchcraft, and popular culture. He is the author of 'The Making of James II' (2000); 'Witchcraft & Magic in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Europe' (co-author with Geoffrey Scarre, 2001); 'King In Exile' (2004); and ''James II - The Triumph & the Tragedy' (2005).

He has appeared on programmes and radio shows for RTE, ITV, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Radio 3, Radio 4, and the World Service. He has lectured at Lancaster University, Goldsmiths College, Wuhan University, and the Peace Institute Ljubljana. John is currently Director of the Marx Memorial Library, and is working on 'Embracing the Darkness - a Cultural History of Witchcraft' (for I.B. Tauris) and a study of the Bideford Witches.