I am the author of more than twenty novels and stories for children and young adults. I write about family and friendship, about our connection to the natural world, about life and death, love and loss, sadness and joy – everything that matters to me.
As a child I lived in Ashtead, a small village in Surrey, with my book-loving family. I loved reading and writing, playing with my sisters and friends, walking in the woods and fields, building dens and playing in the stream. I went to St Giles Primary School in Ashtead, and Nonsuch High School for Girls in Cheam. I studied English & American Literature at the University of Kent in Canterbury and went on to do an M. Phil in English Studies 1798 – 1880 at the University of Oxford. I have a PhD in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. I’ve worked as a publicity assistant for a publisher, a library assistant, an English teacher, a lecturer in Further, Higher and Community education.
I am Emeritus Professor of Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, and until 2019 was Course Director for the MA Writing for Young People, which has launched the careers of many successful children’s writers.
I have two inspiring, adventurous grown-up sons. I live at the North-East coast with my husband, the writer David Almond. I love to spend time in wild, remote places, especially the islands of the Outer Hebrides and the Northumberland coast.
