River Wolton grew up in London and lived in Sheffield for twenty years before moving to north Derbyshire.

She is a former Derbyshire Poet Laureate, former Writer-in-Residence with Writing East Midlands and a Hawthornden Fellow. She’s worked extensively in community arts, including book, performance and film projects with multi-racial women’s groups, refugee groups and young writers.

She is a co-author of the Route anthology of stories about mothers and daughters, Some Girls’ Mothers.

The Purpose of Your Visit was highly commended in the 2008 Book & Pamphlet Competiton. She has two full length collections: Leap published by Smith|Doorstop in 2010, and Indoor Skydiving (2013).