Lisa was born and grew up in Nottingham. Following a degree in drama, she worked as an actor for over a decade before writing her debut novel. The Art of Being Normal went on to win the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Best Older Fiction 2016 and was the bestselling hardback UKYA debut of 2015. Lisa is also the author of All About Mia , Paper Avalanche , First Names: Malala (Yousafzai) and was one of seven contributors to the collaborative YA novel Floored . When she's not writing, Lisa loves long walks, long talks, dessert, good books and bad TV. She lives in London.