Poet, playwright, painter and short fiction writer ANNE LE MARQUAND HARTIGAN was born in England and studied painting at the University of Reading. She returned to her family home in Co. Louth in 1962 where, married to Tim Hartigan, she reared six children. She now lives in Dublin.

She has published four collections of poetry, among them Now is a Moveable Feast (1991) and Immortal Sins (1993), while her latest, Nourishment, has just appeared from Salmon Publishing. As a playwright her performed work includes Beds (1982), La Corbiere (premiered at Dublin Theatre Festival, 1989), The Secret Game (1995), which won the Mobil Prize, and Jersey Lillies (1996). She has won many awards for her written and visual work, and has exhibited and given readings both nationally and internationally. Her work is translated into German, Russian and Galician. www.annehartigan.com

PATRICK CHAPMAN was born in 1968. His poetry books are Jazztown (1991) and The New Pornography (1996). His short story, A Ghost, won first prize in the story category of the Cinescape Genre Literary Competition in Los Angeles in 2003. He has been a finalist on two occasions in the Hennessy Literary Awards (in 1995 for poetry, and 1999 for fiction) and in the Ian St James Awards for fiction (1990).

His poems appear in many anthologies around the world, and in the 100 Poets anti-war series from nthposition: 100 Poets Against The War, Poems For Lord Hutton, and Times New Roman. In 2001, he collaborated on a touring art exhibition and book, The Foot Series, with artist Gemma Tipton. Burning the Bed, his first film script, based on his own short story, was directed in 2003 by Denis McArdle and named Best Narrative Short at the 2004 Dead Center Film Festival in Oklahoma.