Julia Golding, also known by her pen names Joss Stirling and Eve Edwards, is a renowned British novelist celebrated for her Cat Royal series and The Companions Quartet. Born in 1969, she has carved a significant niche in the literary world, selling over a million and a half books globally across various age categories.

Golding's educational background includes a degree in English from Cambridge, followed by diplomatic service in Poland for the British Foreign Office. She later pursued a doctorate in English literature at Oxford, which inspired her debut novel, The Diamond of Drury Lane, winning several prestigious awards like the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Nestle Children’s Book Prize in 2006.

In addition to her writing, she is the Director of the Oxford Centre for Fantasy. In 2019, she served as Writer in Residence at the Royal Institution. Golding's works are known for featuring strong female leads and draw on her diverse career experiences, including her time with Oxfam as a policy adviser.

Her notable works under the pen name Joss Stirling, such as the Finding Sky series, have also received critical acclaim, with Struck winning the YA Romantic Novel and overall prize of the Romantic Novel of the Year in 2015.