Frances Hardinge is a British children's writer, born in 1973. She grew up in a huge, isolated old house in a small, strange village, which inspired her to write strange, magical stories from an early age. Hardinge studied English at Oxford University and now resides in Oxford, England.

Her debut novel, Fly by Night, won the 2006 Branford Boase Award and was listed as one of the School Library Journal Best Books. She has been shortlisted for and received a number of other awards for her novels and short stories.