Patricia Mary W. Barker (née Drake; born 8 May 1943) is an English writer and novelist. She is celebrated for her fiction that explores themes of memory, trauma, survival, and recovery.

Her most renowned work includes the Regeneration Trilogy, published in the 1990s, which has received critical acclaim. More recently, she embarked on a series of books set during the Trojan War, beginning with The Silence of the Girls in 2018.

Barker was born in Thornaby-on-Tees and was educated at the London School of Economics. She has also worked as a teacher of history and politics. Her novel The Ghost Road won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1995.

She is married and resides in Durham, England.