Amanda Dalton is a poet and playwright. Born in Coventry, she was a deputy headteacher for five years. After organising writers' courses for four years for the Arvon Foundation at Lumb Bank, she is now Education Director at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Her first book-length collection, "How to Disappear" (Bloodaxe Books, 1999), was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and chosen as a Next Generation Poets title by the Poetry Book Society in 2004. Her second collection, "Stray", was published by Bloodaxe in 2012. Her radio drama includes "Room of Leaves" (1998) for BBC Radio 4, which was shortlisted for the Prix Italia award, and "The Cabinet of Dr Caligari" (2011) for BBC Radio 3. She lives in Hebden Bridge.