Sheila Armstrong is a writer and editor from the north-west of Ireland. How to Gut a Fish, her first collection of short stories, was shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award and longlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. Falling Animals, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2024 and chosen for BBC2’s Between the Covers TV book club. Her stories have appeared in The London Magazine and The Stinging Fly and been shortlisted for the Society of Authors Awards and Irish Book Awards. She is an Arts Council Next Generation Artist.

Noel O’Regan is from Co. Kerry and is the recipient of a number of awards, including an Arts Council Next Generation Artist Award. His short fiction has appeared in publications such as The Stinging Fly, Granta, Banshee and The London Magazine. His debut novel, Though the Bodies Fall (Granta) was shortlisted for Newcomer of the Year at the 2023 An Post Irish Book Awards