Julia Darling has lived in Newcastle upon Tyne since 1980. She began her writing career as a poet and worked with a performance group, The Poetry Virgins, for many years 'taking poetry to the places that least expected it.' In 1998 her first novel Crocodile Soup'was published by Anchor at Transworld. The novel went on to be published in Canada, Australia, Europe and the States and was long-listed for the Orange Prize. Her most recent novel The Taxi Driver's Daughter was published by Penguin, and long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and short-listed for the Encore Award. She has also written many plays for stage and radio, including 'Posties' for Radio Four's Women's Hour, 'Manifesto For The New City' for Northern Stage. In 2003 she published her first solo collection of poems called Sudden Collapses In Public Places with Arc Publications. This was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Julia is currently a 'Fellow of Literature and Health' in the English School at Newcastle University, and is a recipient of The Northern Rock Foundation Writer's Award. She is currently writing a new novel for Penguin. To find out more about her work, or to read her weblog go to: www.juliadarling.co.uk