Bill Manley

Dr Bill Manley is a British Egyptologist and Coptic scholar, lecturer, curator and best-selling author, known for devising popular forms of access to the study of Ancient Egypt. These days he is Co-Director of Complutense Egyptology and Honorary President of Egyptology Scotland. He also leads study tours in Egypt with Ancient World Tours (UK) and Academy Travel (Australia).

For over two decades Bill has been contributing to archaeological projects in Egypt, including the current C2 Wadi Survey at Luxor and the Coptic Magical Papyri Project based at the University of Würzburg, while his output includes museum exhibitions, textbooks, translations of ancient texts, and specialist contributions to journals, anthologies and encyclopaedias covering subjects as diverse as ancient art and literature, the archaeology of the ancient world, primitivism, and the world’s oldest philosophy.

Bill has spoken at international book festivals, including The Sunday Times Literary Festival, Bradford Literature Festival, Warwick Words, and Highlighting History. His latest book, The Oldest Book in the World. Philosophy in the Age of the Pyramids, was published by Thames & Hudson in 2023.