Nancy Farmer is an American writer known for her children's and young adult books as well as science fiction. She was born in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up in a hotel on the Arizona-Mexico border. From an early age, she displayed a sense of adventure, working the switchboard at the age of nine and exploring areas such as the old state prison and the hobo jungle along the banks of the Colorado River.

She attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where she earned her BA in 1963. Rather than pursuing a traditional career, she joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in India. Upon her return, she lived in a commune in Berkeley, before working in the Entomology department and studying Chemistry at UC Berkeley.

Nancy's writing career is distinguished by her three Newbery Honor books and winning the U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature for her novel The House of the Scorpion, published in 2002 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Her novels are celebrated for their adventurous plots and imaginative storytelling, and have been translated into over 20 languages.