The current chair of North East Writers, poet Sheila Reid lives and works in the beautiful Lumphanan valley overlooked by the hills of the Mounth.

Rapunzel Wizard is Aberdeen's own word mangler, from somewhere up the other end of King Street. Expect him to put the boot into politicians, catch Reality TV in a choke hold, and spin the stupidity of daily existence round his head before throwing it out of the ring.

Olivia McMahon, a founder member of Poetry Aberdeen in its first incarnation as Dead Good Poets, has published a poetry chapbook Domestic Verses (Koo Press) and two novels, Love as a Foreign Language and Rose-tinted Scissors. She is working on a Collected Poems and a third novel.

Grant Fraser is an experimental poet and film-maker. Published in Granite and Gravel (Spring Tides Poetry, 2008).

Mark Pithie is inspired by his home city, which seems to be disappearing around him. He is alleged to have been published somewhere, but these rumours are as yet unsubstantiated. He claims to have been dreaming of being a poet since the last century and hopes to wake up some day soon.

Haworth Hodgkinson is a poet and playwright, composer and improvising musician. His work often involves collaboration with other writers, musicians and dancers. He performs as poet and musician with the multimedia Blue Salt Collective, and is the founder and artistic director of North-East Scotland's New Words festival.

His poetry is widely published in magazines and anthologies, and his first collection, A Weakness for Mermaids, was published in 2007 by Koo Press.