Pamela O'Malley de Crist
born in Limerick; moved to Franco's Spain with her husband Gaynor Crist in 1953; widowed in 1964; she remained in Spain and became involved with the Spanish Communist Party resulting in three spells in prison for anti-Franco activities. She is still involved with anti-racism and Third World support groups.

Doreen Curran
a mezzo soprano in her final year of B.Mus.Perf. course in the College of Music, Dublin, she is studying with Anne-Marie O'Sullivan and won the College gold medal in 1995. She is working with the Opera Theatre Company and has appeared in Monteverdi's 'Orfeo'.

Catherine Donnelly
worked as a copywriter in advertising for a number of years, though is now pursuing other areas. She has had a play televised in RTE's Two Lives series, wrote a restaurant column for the Sunday Independent and has a weekly diary in the same paper. She is a board member of the Rough Magic Theatre and the Gaiety School of Acting.

Joe O'Connor
has written novels: Cowboys and Indians and Desperadoes; short stories: True Believers; film and television scripts, a biography of Charlie Donnelly: Even the Olives are Bleeding; a compilation of his journalism The Secret World of the Irish Male is a best seller.

Emma Donoghue
an Irish writer based in Cambridge, she has published two novels Stir Fry and Hood as well as a history, short stories and essays on Kate O'Brien and Eva Gore Booth and a section in the forthcoming Field Day Anthology Volume IV.

Colm Tóibín
author of The South and The Heather Blazing and a number of travel books; in 1995 he won the EM Forster award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

Kevin O'Connor
born in Limerick, developed an early interest in theatre; worked in touring theatre in Britain; became a journalist in London and returned to work with RTE in the 1970's. Script editor and writer of Thou Shallt Not Kill; an admirer of Kate O'Brien, he wrote the Memory and Desire play performed at 1995 Kate O'Brien Weekend; he has adapted The Ante Room for premiere performance by the Island Theatre Company in July 1996; is a regular contributor to RTE Radio's It Says in the Papers.

Declan Kiberd
born in Dublin, he took a degree in English and Irish at Trinity College and holds a doctorate from Oxford. Among his books are Synge and the Irish language, Men and Feminism in Modern Literature, Idir Dha Chultúr; his latest book is Inventing Ireland.

Patricia Coughlan
Lectures in the Dept. of English, University College Cork.

Carmen Callil
born in Melbourne of Irish Lebanese parentage;
1959: BA In Eng Lit & History, Melbourne University.
1960: moved to London; during her time as publicity manager for Granada Publishing she was involved in projects The Female Eunuch & Henri Charrier's Papillon.
1972: founded Virago; initiated the Virago Modern Classic series which included the authors Margaret Atwood, Antonia White, Rosamund Lehmann & Kate O'Brien.
1979-1984: member of Booker Prize committee.
1982-1994: managing director of Chatto & Windus & The Hogarth Press.
1995: resigned as chairman of Virago
She is a member of the board of Channel 4 TV and a fellow of The Royal Society of Arts.