Roald Dahl sisters. Dahl always maintained that his mother and her stories had a strong influence on his writing. In one interview, he mentioned: "She was a great teller of tales. Her memory was prodigious and nothing that ever happened to her in her life was forgotten." When Dahl started writing and publishing his famous books for children, he created a grandmother character in "The Witches" and later stated that she was based directly on his own mother as a tribute. In 1961, Dahl hosted and wrote for a science fiction and horror television anthology series called "Way Out", which preceded the
Roald Dahl Booktrust and Children's Laureate Michael Rosen inaugurated The Roald Dahl Funny Prize, an annual award to authors of humorous children's fiction. On 14 September 2009 (the day after what would have been Dahl's 93rd birthday) the first blue plaque in his honour was unveiled in Llandaff. Rather than commemorating his place of birth, however, the plaque was erected on the wall of the former sweet shop (and site of "The Great Mouse Plot of 1924") that features in the first part of his autobiography "Boy". It was unveiled by his widow Felicity and son Theo. The anniversary of Dahl's birthday