Laura Restrepo is a Colombian author, born in 1950 in Bogotá, Colombia. She began her writing career with political columns in her mid-twenties. Her first novel, Isle of Passion, is based on historical events that occurred on Clipperton Island.

Restrepo is best known for her novel Delirio, which won the prestigious Premio Alfaguara in 2004 and the Grinzane Cavour in 2006. Her literary style often blurs the lines between traditional identities, categories, and concepts, incorporating journalistic elements and personal experiences into narratives that are often set in her native Colombia.

Aside from novels, she has also written essays and a children's book. Her works have been translated into various languages. Restrepo has worked as a journalist and was actively involved in politics. She played a significant role in negotiations with guerrillas during the 1980s, which led to her forced exile. She returned after the legalization of the Movimiento 19 de Abril (M-19).

An intellectual with leftist ideals, she has supported the possibilities of Hugo Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution and criticized nationalistic hatreds orchestrated in Bogotá and Caracas. She currently resides in Mexico with her partner, who is Mexican, but she also maintains a home in Bogotá.