Berlie Doherty was born in Liverpool and writes for adults and children. Her first book, HOW GREEN YOU ARE! was published in 1982 and she has been a full-time, compulsive writer of novels, stories, poems and plays since then. She has written over forty books. In 2002 Berlie Doherty was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Derby for excellence in her field. She lives in Edale in the Peak District, where she spends her spare time walking, day-dreaming, and struggling to learn piano, violin and tin whistle.