 She wrote poems 'Northlands', commissioned by Yorkshire Forward for their Regional Economic Strategy Document, and for the Royal Armouries, the Captain Cook Museum in Whitby and Alchemy Asian Arts.In 2006 Denby was designated a Cultural Revolutionary by the Northern arts festival 'Illuminate' for her contribution to the region's arts and the cultural life of her home city of Bradford, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford in recognition of her role as a cultural ambassador.Denby won the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger award for her first novel, "Stone Baby".