Caroline Bird was born in 1986. She grew up in Leeds and attended the Steiner School in York before moving to London in 2001. She won the Poetry Society's Simon Elvin Young Poet of the Year Award two years running (1999 and 2000) and won an Eric Gregory Award in 2002. Her poems have appeared in PN Review, Poetry Review, The North magazine and in Carcanet's New Poetries III anthology (2002). Her first collection, Looking Through Letterboxes, a topical, zesty and formally delightful collection of poems built on the traditions of fairy tale, fantasy and romance, was published by Carcanet in 2002. Her second collection, Trouble Came to the Turnip, appeared in September 2006.

Caroline has given poetry readings at the Royal Festival Hall, Cheltenham Festival and Ledbury Festival. Her poems and a specially-commissioned short story, Sucking Eggs, have been broadcast on Radio Four. A member of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme, she has also written four plays: Nothing to Say, The Pie, The Lumberjills and A Hymn With Drums. In Autumn 2008 Caroline was shortlisted for the prestigious Dylan Thomas Prize for writers under 30. She is currently studying English at Oxford University.

 


- Shortlisted for the 2008 Dylan Thomas Prize for young writers
- Shortlisted for the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize in 2001
- Winner of the Peterloo Poets Competition (16-19 year-olds) in 2002, 2003 and 2004
- Winner of an Eric Gregory Award in 2002
- Winner of the Simon Elvin Young Poet of the Year Award in 1999 and 2000