Alison Wood was privileged to be a registered nurse for 37 years, also qualifying as a midwife, neonatal intensive care nurse and in the prevention and control of infection. Alison’s main career passion was in sexual health, gaining a BSc (Hons) and later a Masters in Child Welfare and Safeguarding, exploring how healthcare workers can recognise, protect and access help for children who are, or at risk of, being sexually exploited.

Her poems explore themes of the most intimate of human interactions, from the microscopic to the universal. With a Masters in creative writing from the University of Hull, Alison has been commended in the Hippocrates Poetry Prize and was shortlisted by one of the judges for the Brotherton Prize 2019.

When she’s not worrying you will find her most mornings resisting a wetsuit and wild swimming in Scarborough’s North or South Bay.

Cheryl Pearson is the author of two poetry collections Oysterlight (Pindrop Press, 2017) and Menagerie (The Emma Press, 2020). Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in publications including The Guardian, Mslexia, Frontier, The Moth, and The Interpreter’s House, and she has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her short fiction has been published in TSS, Longleaf Review, and Confingo among others, and she was shortlisted for the Costa Short Story Award in 2017.

Menagerie purchase link:

https://theemmapress.com/shop/menagerie/

Oysterlight purchase link:

http://www.pindroppress.com/books/Oysterlight.html

Kevin Holloway was born in south London, grew up in the West Midlands and now lives in Bradford, Yorkshire. Over the last forty years Kevin has taught in schools, colleges, and universities across the north of England. His first pamphlet, Out of Place, was published by Half Moon Books in 2019. His work has been included in Strix and other magazines, and one of his poems was included in the Candlestick Press anthology Fourteen Festive Sonnets.

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