'A container into which you pour your story'

 

“As individuals, we are shaped by story from the time of birth; we are formed by what we are told by our parents, our teachers, our intimates.” – Helen Dunmore

 

Born in England in December of 1952, Dunmore grew up in a large family (her parents also came from large families), a great influence, she said, on her writing.  She wrote 15 novels, 9 Young Adult books, a couple dozen children’s books and 12 collections of poetry, many of them winners of some of the world’s most prestigious writing prizes. 

 

Her novel A Spell of Winter was the very first winner of the Orange Prize, and her final two books – the novel Birdcage Walk and the poetry collection Inside The Wave – both won her the prestigious Costa Book Award (formerly the Whitbread). Both books came out in 2017, the year of her death from cancer.

 

Among her clever children’s books are Aliens Don’t Eat Bacon Sandwiches and Go Fox, two of several of her works taught in British elementary schools.  

 

“A novel, in the end, is a container, a shape which you are trying to pour your story into,” she said.  “I would like people to come into my Dreamworld and then choose to stay.”