Jessica Traynor is a poet, essayist, librettist, and poetry editor at Banshee. Her debut collection, Liffey Swim (Dedalus Press, 2014), was shortlisted for the Strong/Shine Award. The Quick (Dedalus Press, 2018) was an Irish Times book of the year. Pit Lullabies (Bloodaxe, 2022) was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and was an Irish Times book of the year, and a Guardian Best Summer Read of 2022. It was shortlisted for the Yeats Society Sligo/ Irish Independent Poetry Prize. She is 2023 recipient of the Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award for Poetry. Other awards include the Ireland Chair of Poetry Prize, the Listowel Poetry Prize, and Hennessy New Writer of the Year. She is 2023 Arts Council Writer in Residence in Galway University. She was a judge for the 2023 Forward Prizes and is a critic for The Irish Times.
Anna Jordan Founded Modwords in 2016, a spoken word and literature creative writing movement. Anna has travelled Ireland and Europe performing at festivals and teaching through homelessness, mental health and various other mediums. Based in Waterford, Anna runs Poetry Day, Culture Night and is Festival Director for Summer in the City Arts Festival.