Lemn Sissay OBE is a musician, a stand-up comedian, radio and television producer, a playwright and a poet. He is the author of five poetry collections (Canongate), and one children's book, published by Bloomsbury. Of Ethiopian descent, he was brought up by white parents in the north west of England. His previous plays include Don't Look Down (1993), Chaos by Design (1994), Storm (2002), and Something Dark (2006).
Benjamin Zephaniah is a high-profile international author, well known for his performance poetry with a political edge for adults and ground-breaking performance poetry for children, as well as his novels for young people, including Face, Refugee Boy, Gangsta Rap and Teacher's Dead. He was included in The Times' list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.