Lydia Towsey comperes and coordinates WORD! and in 2009 has been the Artistic Director of ‘The Lyric Lounge’ www.lyriclounge.co.uk . Lydia has performed alongside John Hegley and Jean 'Binta' Breeze and is soon to be published in ‘POM’, an anthology  of new voices, co-edited by Michael Horovitz, John Hegley and Melanie Abrahams.

Matt Merritt was born in Leicester and brought up in Coalville. His chapbook, Making The Most Of The Light, was published by HappenStance in 2005, and a full collection, Troy Town, was published by Arrowhead in 2008.

Pam Thompson has been writing and performing poetry in the East Midlands for a number of years. She is part of the steering-group of and was artistic producer of the event at the Lyric Lounge week at The Y Theatre, Leicester in July 2009. Pam is widely published in magazines and pamphlets. Her first full collection is The Japan Quiz, published by Redbeck Press in 2008