Siobhan Dowd
| Siobhan Dowd | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 February 1960 London, England |
| Died | 21 August 2007 (aged 47) Oxford, England |
| Language | English |
| Education | Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford |
| Genre | children's literature |
| Notable works |
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| Notable awards | Carnegie Medal (2009) |
| Years active | 2004-2007 |
| Spouses |
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Siobhan Dowd (4 February 1960 – 21 August 2007) was a British writer and activist. The last book she completed, Bog Child, posthumously won the 2009 Carnegie Medal from the professional librarians, recognising the year's best book for children or young adults published in the U.K.
Dowd was born in London, to Irish parents. She attended a Roman Catholic grammar school in south London and earned a BA Hons degree in Classics from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University and an MA with distinction from Greenwich University in Gender and Ethnic Studies.
In 1984, she joined the writer's organisation International PEN, initially as a researcher for its Writers in Prison Committee and later as Program Director of PEN American Center's Freedom-to-Write Committee in New York City. Her work there included founding and leading the Rushdie Defense Committee (USA) and travelling to Indonesia and Guatemala to investigate local human rights conditions for writers. During her seven-year stay in New York, Dowd was named one of the "top 100 Irish-Americans" by Irish-America Magazine and Aer Lingus for her global anti-censorship work.
On her return to the UK, Dowd co-founded, with Rachel Billington, English PEN's readers and writers program. The program takes authors into schools in socially deprived areas, as well as prisons, young offender's institutions and community projects. During 2004, Dowd served as Deputy Commissioner for Children's Rights in Oxfordshire, working with local government to ensure that statutory services affecting children's lives conform with UN protocols.
Before her death from a severe case of breast cancer, the Siobhan Dowd Trust, a registered charity, was established, wherein the proceeds from her literary work will be used to assist disadvantaged children with their reading skills.
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