Siobhan Dowd

Siobhan Dowd was born in 1960 to Irish parents and brought up in London. She received a BA in Classics from Oxford University and an MA in Gender and Ethnic Studies from Greenwich University. Dowd lived in New York for seven years, during which time she served as program director for PEN America and became involved in global anti-censorship campaigns. Upon her return to England, she co-founded English PEN’s Readers and Writers Programme. During 2004, Dowd served as Deputy Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Oxfordshire. She also edited two anthologies in the Threatened Literature Series for the Freedom to Write Committee of the PEN American Center. An invitation to contribute a story about a ‘Pavee’ (an Irish Traveller) to Tony Bradman's collection of short stories for children about racism, Skin Deep (2004), led to a new career as an author of children’s books. Her works garnered numerous awards and include A Swift Pure Cry (2006), The London Eye Mystery (2007), Bog Child (2008) and Solace of the Road (2009). Siobhan Dowd died in August 2007, aged 47. For more information on the writer, please visit www.siobhandowdtrust.com.