The conference will be held in Keele Hall, a mid-nineteenth century manor now part of Keele University, set in its own magnificent gardens and park.

Events planned for the conference include readings by two contemporary poets. Deryn Rees-Jones, recently voted one of the 20 best poets of the Next Generation by the Poetry Book Society. Deryn is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool; she has published Quiver (Seren, 2004), has been anthologised in A Quark for Mr Mark: 101 Poems about Science (Faber) and A Wild Reckoning: Poems Provoked by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (Gulbenkian Foundation). She is the co-founder of LUPAS, a network which aims to bring together scientists and poets to discuss ways in which we can help each other to think creatively.

Helen Clare won the First Prize in the London Writers Competition 2002; began her career as a Biology teacher and now teaches Creative Writing at the University of Lancaster. She is the author of Mollusc (2004).