Frances Hardinge is a British children's writer, born in 1973. Her debut novel, Fly by Night, won the 2006 Branford Boase Award and was listed as one of the School Library Journal Best Books.

Hardinge's unique upbringing in a huge, isolated old house in a small, strange village inspired her to write strange, magical stories from an early age. She studied English at Oxford University and now resides in Oxford, England. Over the years, she has been shortlisted for and received numerous awards for both her novels and some of her short stories.