Val Wood | |
|---|---|
 Val Wood with a selection of her best-selling novels | |
| Born | Valerie Wood Castleford, West Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Author |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Website | www |
Val Wood, also known as Valerie Wood, is a British author of historical romance novels. She has written over 25 novels, all set in and around the city of Kingston upon Hull published by Transworld. [1] She was born in Castleford and lives in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire
Wood's first novel, The Hungry Tide, was published in 1993 after winning the Catherine Cookson Prize for Romantic Fiction. Wood has released many novels including The Innkeeper's Daughter, [2] and The Doorstep Girls which were named in The Times best-seller list in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
Her 19th novel, His Brother's Wife, was released in September 2013 and reached number 11 in the Bookseller charts. The Hungry Tide was also re-released to celebrate the novel's 20th anniversary along with the rest of the author's back catalogue, many titles of which have made the Times best-seller list.
Val Wood takes inspiration from the heritage of her surroundings, and in 2012 she launched a website and trail [3] to coincide with the release of her novel The Harbour Girl [4] and to promote tourism in both Scarborough and Hull where the novel is set. The trail was promoted via a free library tour in summer 2012. [5] A further trail was created to promote tourism in Beverley and coincided with the reissue of her novel The Kitchen Maid.
Wood is a proponent of the benefits of library services. In November 2012 her catalogue of books were named amongst the top loaned titles in UK libraries on BBC Radio 4's Open Book show presented by Mariella Frostrup [6] and in 2016 Val was featured in the BBC Television documentary series The Books That Made Britain.
When she is not writing, Wood volunteers for a number of charities including Hull and District Talking Magazine where she has been a reader and editor for 28 years. [7] Wood is also patron of Home Start and Friends of Hull Memory Clinic and has spoken at a number of events to raise awareness of dementia issues. Dementia is an issue close to Wood's heart after losing her husband Peter to dementia in 2009. [8]
In 2016 Val was announced as the Vice President of HERIB and in 2017 Val was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The University of Hull.
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, 25 miles (40 km) inland from the North Sea, 50 miles (80 km) east of Leeds, 34 miles (55 km) south-east of York and 54 miles (87 km) north-east of Sheffield. With a population of 259,778 (mid-2019 est.), Hull is the fourth-largest city in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.
Dame Daphne du Maurier,, also known as Lady Browning after her husband was knighted in 1946, was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was George du Maurier, a writer and cartoonist.
Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located 27 miles (43 km) south-east of York's centre and 15 miles (24 km) north-west of City of Hull.
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Beverley Road is one of several major roads that run out of the city of Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The road is noted for being a major arterial route into, and out of Hull. It also known for its student population and being the location of a shop (Turners), whose slogan was used by the pop band, Everything But the Girl. In 1994, just over 1-mile (1.6 km) of the road was designated as a conservation area.
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Banbibi, the lady of the forest, also Bandevi, Bandurga and Byaghradevi is a guardian spirit of the forests venerated by both the Hindu and the Muslim residents of the Sundarbans. She is called upon mostly by the honey-collectors and the woodcutters before entering the forest for protection against the attacks from the tigers. It is believed that the demon king, Dakkhin Rai, an arch-enemy of Banbibi actually appears in the disguise of a tiger and attacks human beings.
Larkin 25 was an arts festival and cultural event in Kingston upon Hull, England, organised to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of the poet and University of Hull librarian, Philip Larkin. The festival was launched at Hull Truck Theatre on 14 June 2010 and concluded on 2 December 2010, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the poet's death, with the unveiling of a statue in his likeness at Hull Paragon Interchange.
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