Helen Dunmore FRSL was a British poet, novelist, and short story and children's writer. She was born on 12 December 1952 in Yorkshire, England, and was the second of four children. Poetry was a significant part of her life from childhood, beginning with listening to and learning various rhymes, hymns, and ballads, and later creating her own poems.

She studied English at the University of York and, after graduation, taught English as a foreign language. Helen Dunmore's family background, being surrounded by a large extended family, heavily influenced her storytelling.

Among her best-known novels are Zennor in Darkness, A Spell of Winter, and The Siege. Her final book of poetry was Inside the Wave. Throughout her career, she received numerous accolades including the inaugural Orange Prize for Fiction, the National Poetry Competition, and posthumously, the Costa Book Award.