Nicholas Royle was born in Manchester in 1963. He is the author of seven novels, including: Counterparts, Saxophone Dreams, and First Novel, and a short story collection, Mortality. He has edited sixteen anthologies, including A Book of Two Halves and Neonlit: Time Out Book of New Writing. He lives between London and Manchester and teaches creative writing at MMU. Elizabeth Baines is the author of two short story collections and three novels (all available from Salt), and has written prize-winning drama for BBC Radio 4. In the past, Elizabeth has written, performed and produced plays for fringe theatre, has worked as a secondary-school teacher and has taught Creative Writing at Manchester University and the Bolton Institute. She was born in South Wales and now lives in Manchester where she brought up her two sons. David Constantine, born 1944 in Salford, has published several volumes of poetry, a novel and four collections of short stories - Back at the Spike (1994), Under the Dam (2005), The Shieling (2009) and Tea at the Midland (2012). He is an editor and translator of Hoelderlin, Goethe, Kleist and Brecht. He was the winner of the 2010 BBC National Short Story Award and the 2013 Frank O'Connor Award. Ailsa Cox, Reader in creative writing and English at Edge Hill University, is a writer and critic with a special interest in the short story. She is the the author of Writing Short Stories (Routledge), Alice Munro (Northcote House) and The Real Louise and Other Stories (Headland). Sian Melangell Dafydd is the author of Y Trydydd Peth (The Third Thing), which won the 2009 National Eisteddfod Literature Medal. She is the co-editor of the literature review Taliesin and www.yneuadd.com and writes in both Welsh and English. Claire Dean's short stories have been published in The Best British Short Stories 2011 and 2014, as well as in Still, Shadows & Tall Trees, Patricide, A cappella Zoo and as chapbooks by Nightjar Press. Her first collection, The Museum of Shadows and Reflections (Unsettling Wonder), with illustrations by Laura Rae, was published in 2016. She lives in Lancashire with her two young sons. Two new stories are forthcoming from Nightjar Press in 2017. Stuart Evers is the author of two short story collections, Ten Stories About Smoking and Your Father Sends His Love, and a novel, If This is Home. He lives in London with his family. Jonathan Gibbs was born in 1972 and lives in London. His debut novel, Randall, is published by Galley Beggar Press, and was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2015. His short fiction has appeared in Lighthouse, The South Circular, Allnighter (Pulp Faction), Gorse and The Best British Short Stories 2014, and has been shortlisted for the White Review Short Story Prize. He blogs at tinycamels.wordpress.com. Jay Griffiths is the author of A Love Letter From a Stray Moon, a short novel about Frida Kahlo. Her non-fiction includes Wild: An Elemental Journey and Kith: The Riddle of the Childscape. She won the Barnes and Noble 'Discover' award for the best first-time author in the USA, and has been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize and a World Book Day award, and is the winner of the inaugural Orion Book Award. David Grubb writes novels, short stories and poems. His most recent poetry collection, Box, was published by Like This Press in 2012. Previous poetry collections have been published by Salt, Shearsman, and Stride. He was a winner in the 2012/13 Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition with a sequence, 'Ways of Looking'. M John Harrison is the author of eleven novels (including In Viriconium, The Course of the Heart and Light), five short story collections (most recently You Should Come With Me Now, longlisted for the Edge Hill Prize), two graphic novels, and collaborations with Jane Johnson, writing as Gabriel King. He won the Boardman Tasker Award for Climbers (1989), the James Tiptree Jr Award for Light (2002) and the Arthur C Clarke Award for Nova Swing (2007). He reviews fiction for the Guardian and the Times Literary Supplement and lives in Shropshire. Vicki Jarrett is a novelist and short story writer from Edinburgh. Her first novel, Nothing is Heavy, was published in 2012. Her short fiction has been widely published, broadcast by Radio 4, Radio Scotland and Radio Somerset, and shortlisted for the Manchester Fiction Prize and the Bridport Prize. She is working on a short story collection and a second novel. Richard Knight was born in 1966 and lives in Greenfield near Manchester. His first published work was in Arc Short Stories in 1997, followed by stories in Brace (Comma Press) and The Possibility of Bears (Biscuit). His short story 'Atlantic Flats' was broadcast on Radio 4 in 2009 and he was shortlisted for the Fish Prize in 2010. Richard has also published three children's novels and is currently writing his first novel for adults. Philip Langeskov was born in Copenhagen in 1976. In 2008, he received the David Higham Award. He has an MA in Creative Writing and a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing, both from UEA. His stories have appeared in various places, including Bad Idea Magazine, Five Dials, Warwick Review and The Best British Short Stories 2011. Anna Metcalfe was born in Westphalia in 1987. Her work has been published in Elbow Room, Lighthouse and Tender Journal. She lives in Norwich. 'Number Three' was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. Louise Palfreyman works as an editor and copywriter in Birmingham. Her short fiction has been published by The View From Here and the London School of Liberal Arts. She is part of a thriving community of writers called PowWow. The group meets weekly at a local pub and holds an annual literary festival. Christopher Priest is the author of thirteen novels and four short story collections. His 1995 novel The Prestige was filmed by Christopher Nolan and his latest novel is The Adjacent (2013). He lives on the south coast. Joanne Rush lives in London, where she divides her time between writing and teaching. She holds a PhD from Cambridge University in Renaissance literature and she travels frequently to the Balkans, this year to work with the non-profit theatre company Youth Bridge Global. Her current project is a novel about modern Bosnia. 'Guests' is her first published short story. Mick Scully lives and works in Birmingham. In 2007 Tindal Street Press published his short story collection Little Moscow. His first novel, The Norway Room, was published in 2014, also by Tindal Street Press. Joanna Walsh has had work published by Granta, Dalkey, Salt, Gorse and others. Her collection, Fractals, was published by 3:AM Press in 2013. Hotel is forthcoming from Bloomsbury, and Vertigo (selected stories) from the Dorothy Project. She reviews books for a number of publications including the Guardian, New Statesman and The Nation. She is fiction editor at 3:AM Magazine, and runs @read_women. She is a member of the London Institute of Pataphysics, and also works as an illustrator. Adam Wilmington is a writer, poet and songwriter born and raised in Wigan. He is currently completing a degree at the University of Nottingham. 'It' was the winning story in the 2013 Manchester Fiction Prize, worth GBP10,000.
