Martin De Mello has played a leading role in the development of a community of UK black poets. He teaches the advanced black poets course in Manchester UK, runs the Cultureword writers workshop and was a key participant in the UK-Jamaica Hot House New Writers Project 2006.

Muli Amaye writes and edits long and short fiction, as well as poetry. She is writing her PhD in Creative Writing at Lancaster University and is a creative writing tutor and workshop facilitator. She coordinated the UK National Black Writers Conference 2007.