Berlie Doherty was born in Liverpool. She studied English Literature at Durham University and has been a full-time writer, for both children and adults, since the publication of her first book in 1982. She has won the Carnegie Medal twice - for GRANNY WAS A BUFFER GIRL and DEAR NOBODY - and the Writers' Guild Children's Fiction Award for DAUGHTER OF THE SEA. Her books have been translated into 17 languages. Berlie lives in the Derbyshire Peak District.