Geraldine Bedell is a British novelist and writer for The Observer.
She drew wide public attention when she claimed she had been disinvited from a planned appearance at the first International Festival of LiteratureinDubai, because her novel The Gulf Between Us featured a homosexual sheikh.[1][2] Writer Margaret Atwood cancelled her scheduled appearance but later retracted when she found out that Bedell had never been invited to the Festival nor had her book been banned.[3] Atwood subsequently made two virtual appearances at the Festival and appeared in person at the 2011 Festival.[4][5][6]
She is married to Charles Leadbeater and is the sister of Elaine Bedell,[7] CEO of the Southbank Centre.
Bedell's first marriage was to banker Jon Norton, with whom she has two children.