Edward Barker has been involved in The Group since 2004. He has published poems in various magazines, including McSweeney’s and Poetry Review and has won prizes or commendations at the Ledbury, Wenlock, Essex and National Poetry Competition, as well as being short-listed three times for the Bridport. He is included in the Forward Poems of the Decade 2011 anthology.

Judy Brown’s first collection, Loudness (Seren, 2011) was shortlisted for the Forward/Felix Dennis and Fenton Aldeburgh first collection prizes. She was Poet in Residence at the Wordsworth Trust for 2013 and a Gladstone’s Library Writer in Residence in 2014. Her latest pamphlet is One of the Summer People (WT, 2013). She joined The Group in 2009. judy-brown.co.uk @JudyBrown

Matthew Brown is a freelance journalist and writer. His poems have appeared in a number of publications, including Magma, Other Poetry and South Bank Poetry. He grew up in Durham, lives in east London and has been in The Group for six months.

Beatrice Garland works in the National Health Service as clinician, teacher and researcher in psychological medicine. She has been in The Group since February 2013. In the same year she published her first collection, The Invention of Fireworks, which has been shortlisted for the Best First Collection in the Forward Prizes.

Susan Grindley is a founder member of The Group. She has had poems highly commended in the Philip Larkin and the Edwin Morgan poetry competitions and has read at the Ledbury Poetry Festival and the Edinburgh Book Festival. Her pamphlet, New Reader was published in 2013 by Rack Press.

Alex Humes read Russian at university and has since worked as an actor and teacher. He has been a member of The Group for about 3 years. He lives in Brixton where he is an assistant beekeeper to his neighbours’ colony.

Valerie Josephs was born in London. She has been in The Group for eleven years. Magazines: Brand, Magma, Painted, Spoken and Smiths Knoll. Anthologies: Gobby Deegan’s Riposte (Donut Press), Solitaire and Buzz (Templar Poetry), Said and Done (Brittle Star), I am Twenty People (Enitharmon), Images of Women (Arrowhead), Virago Book of Christmas and Birdbook 11 (Sidekick Books). A visual artist, she studied in Chicago, London and Glasgow.

June Lausch is a teacher and lives in Stoke Newington. She has been published in magazines, including Magma and South Bank Poetry. She was a runner-up (twice) in the Troubadour Annual Poetry Competition. In 2010 she was commissioned by The Whitechapel Art Gallery, to write poems inspired by the work of Alice Neel. She has been a member of The Group for several years.

American-born Barbara Marsh’s first collection To the Boneyard (Eyewear Publishing) came out in 2013. As a singer/songwriter/musician, she was one-half of cult band The Dear Janes, releasing three albums across Europe and the U.S. A member of The Group for ten years, she lives and teaches in London.

Stuart McKenzie is a freelance fashion illustrator, living and working in London. He joined The Group this year. His poems have appeared in Magma, Envoi, South Bank Poetry, Urthona, The Delinquent, Domestic Cherry, The Interpreter’s House, AnOther Magazine and PLU magazine. He is the author of Creative Fashion Illustration (published by Bloomsbury in 2014).

Simon Rees-Roberts joined The Group ten years ago but vanished for most of the decade. Recently he returned to scowl at mainly familiar faces. His poetry has appeared in Magma, Poetry London, Still, Carapace and other magazines. Resident of the leafy suburbs, he divides his time between writing, drawing, cooking, cycling and searching for lost equipment.

Rose Rouse is a writer, journalist and PR. She has been in The Group since 2010. Her poems have appeared in Magma and South Bank Poetry. Her non-fiction book, A London Safari: walking adventures in NW10 (Amberley Publishing) is out in October 2014.