Marie Hulme

Born in New York and raised in its suburbs, Marie attended Marymount Secondary School where she flourished under the gentle guidance of Sister Bernard Quinn who encouraged her to pursue her love of writing. She graduated with a B.A. in English from Smith College and credits Rosalind deMille, Patricia Skarda, Harold Skulsky, Leo Weinstein, Eliot Offner and Jill Ker Conway with inspiring her to follow her curiosity and her dreams. She continued her study of literature at New York University where she received her Master's degree in English and American literature and was fortunate enough to study with E.L. Doctorow and other esteemed faculty in the shadow of the vibrant and electic Washington Square Park. After completing her thesis in the inspiring reading room of the British Museum in London, immersing herself in the works of the British poets John Keats and Alfred Lord Tennyson, Marie was smitten with a life in London. 

Marie moved to London, eventually landing a job as an editor and researcher at ABC News. She spent many happy years roaming its streets, parks, museums, and environs and enjoying its tea rooms and pubs, before moving back to the States with her British journalist husband. She pursued her love of writing and painting while running after her two children, writing and illustrating a childrens' book, eventually finding her calling as an educator. She received her Master's in Teaching from Sacred Heart University and completed her MFA in Creative Writing at Fairfield University.

In 2011, Marie attended the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and was awarded third prize in the PEN Women of Nob Hill literary competition for Journey to the Sea. In 2012 she traveled to San Francisco to receive first prize from the PEN Women for the vignette Highgate. Subsequently, additional essays from her collection Love Letters to London have received awards. Marie returned to Bread Loaf in 2022 and then, again, as the recipient of the returning writer in fiction award winner in 2023. Her short story, Special Romantics, was awarded third place in the Hackney Literary Awards National Short Story contest and was published in the Birmingham Arts Journal. She was a finalist for the Tucson Festival of Books' novel excerpt category for both Brigid's Peace (2015) and The Architect's Apartment (2023).

Marie is a Lecturer of English at Sacred Heart University where she teaches literature and creative writing. She is on the faculty of the honors program and has taught abroad in Dingle, Ireland and Rome, Italy. She lives in a small town in Connecticut with her husband, two children, and her faithful Golden Retriever, Maddie.

"Love Letters to London is dedicated to James and Catherine, my parents and their namesakes - my children."