Pete King is currently programme director for the MA Childhood Studies and MA Developmental and Therapeutic Play programmes at Swansea University. Pete's research, including joint research with Shelly, has been published both nationally and internationally in journals and published books. Pete's recent publications include the co-authored 'The Play Cycle: Theory, Research and Application' with Gordon Sturrock.

Shelly Newstead is the Managing Director of Common Threads, a social enterprise which develops playwork theory and practice internationally - www.commonthreads.org.uk. Shelly has worked in the playwork field for more than thirty years as a practitioner, trainer, author, editor, publisher and researcher, currently an Adjunct Research Fellow at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. She is the Managing Editor of International Journal of Playwork Practice and the Series Editor for the Routledge Advances in Playwork Research series. Shelly is also the President of the International Council for Children's Play (ICCP).