Colette Bryce was born in Derry in 1970. After studying in England, she settled in London for some years where she received an Eric Gregory Award in 1995 and won the National Poetry Competition in 2003. She has published four poetry collections with Picador, most recently The Whole & Rain-domed Universe (2014), recipient of a Christopher Ewart-Biggs Award in memory of Seamus Heaney. She has held literary fellowships at various universities in the UK, Ireland and the US, and currently lives in Newcastle upon Tyne where she works as a freelance writer and editor. She received a Cholmondeley Award for poetry in 2010.