Deborah Ellis is the author of the international bestseller The Breadwinner, which has been published in twenty-five languages. She has won the Governor General's Award, the Middle East Book Award, the Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. A recipient of the Order of Canada, Deborah has donated more than 2 million in royalties to organizations such as Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, UNICEF and Street Kids International. Deborah has spent a lot of time in Pakistan, in Afghan refugee camps, talking to women and documenting their lives under 20 years of war. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario.