Adelle Stripe was born in 1976 and grew up in Tadcaster. Her debut novel, Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile, is inspired by the life and work of playwright Andrea Dunbar. It received the Society of Authors’ K Blundell Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize. The Observer described it in their books of the year list as “A beautiful period piece of 1980s Britain, as funny and sad as anything by Dunbar herself”.
Stripe is the author of three poetry collections including Dark Corners of the Land and her writing has appeared in publications including The Quietus, New Statesman and The Guardian. She has collaborated with various musicians, composers and filmmakers and has worked on commissions for Hull 2017, British Film Institute, and Manchester Literature Festival.
Stripe works as a Lecturer in Creative Writing at York St John University and has recently contributed to a new anthology on class, Common People, which is published by Unbound in 2019. Black Teeth is currently being adapted for stage by Lisa Holdsworth and Freedom Studios, with a tour scheduled at theatres and venues across the North of England in the coming year.
