Maura Dooley was born on 18 May 1957 in Truro, Cornwall, England, to Irish parents and grew up in Bristol.[3][2] Her two brothers, Terence and Timothy, are also writers .[4] She obtained a BA (Hons) degree from the University of York in 1978 and attended the University of Bristol from 1980 to 1981.[3] [5]
She was the director of the writing centre at the Arvon Foundation in Yorkshire from 1982 to 1987. From 1987 to 1993, Dooley served as programme director of literature for the Southbank Centre in London. In the 1990s, she helped develop family films for Jim Henson Productions and developed a theatre workshop for Performing Arts Labs. Dooley is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London.[6]
Dooley has been a judge for the T. S. Eliot Prize, the National Poetry Competition, the Forward Prize and the London Arts New London Writers Awards.[3]
