Alan Plater (1935-2010) was born in Jarrow, brought up in Hull, and became a full-time writer in 1961, with over 200 assorted credits in radio, television, theatre and film. His plays have been performed at many British theatres, including Hull Truck, London’s Bush Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, and Newcastle’s Live Theatre, Theatre Royal and Newcastle Playhouse. His TV work included Z Cars, The Barchester Chronicles, The Beiderbecke Trilogy, Fortunes of War and A Very British Coup. His most recent work included a memoir, Doggin' Around, the stage plays, Shooting the Legend and Peggy for You, the novel Oliver’s Travels, seen on TV in a controversial dramatisation, as well as contributions to the BBC series Dalziel and Pascoe. He was President of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain from 1991 to 1995, and was given a CBE for services to drama in 2004.

Pauline Plummer writes poetry and short stories. Her verse novella From Here to Timbuktu, was chosen as a Read Regional by New Writing North for 2012. She has won prizes in various national poetry and short story competitions, including the Ilkley Literature Festival 2012. She was poet laureate of Middlesbrough in 2000 and has collaborated with a painter in an exhibition titled Palaver that travelled the UK in the late 90s. Her short stories have been published in anthologies by Comma Press, Biscuit Publishing, New Writing North, Orbis and The Journal.

She has read her work on BBC Radio 4, Tyne Tees TV, Sierra Leone national TV and for the British Council. She tutors creative writing at Northumbria University and for the Open University, but also works in the community with children, the elderly and refugees. She also works as an editor for Mudfog Press, Teesside. And has published a collection of poems and short prose pieces by schoolchildren and students in Sierra Leone.