Hannah Durkan

Biography

Hannah Durkan spent her childhood in Warwickshire reading, snail collecting, car-picnicking, story writing, overthinking and covering her parent’s carpet in paint. She moved to Yorkshire for university in 2004 and never left. After studying medicine and gaining a PGCE from the University of Leeds, Hannah now lives in Leeds with her husband and two young children, who have finally given her a legitimate excuse for her enormous collection of children’s books. When she’s not working in a local primary school, she can be found drinking coffee, writing stories, drawing sky whales and making dens. Hannah is a passionate believer in the power of writing to support mental health. Hannah’s debut novel was longlisted for both The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition and The Bath Children’s Novel Award in 2019, before winning the Hachette Children’s Novel Award in 2020.