Sarah Grace Perry, born on November 28, 1979, is a renowned English author. She grew up in Essex and was raised in a Strict Baptist household. Perry's academic journey in literature began with her studies in English at Anglia Ruskin University, followed by an immersion into civil service. Her passion for writing and the Gothic led her to pursue an MA in Creative Writing and a PhD in Creative Writing and the Gothic at Royal Holloway, University of London.

In 2004, Perry was honored with the Spectator's Shiva Naipaul Award for travel writing. She further honed her craft as Writer-in-Residence at Gladstone's Library in January 2013, where she completed the final draft of her debut novel, After Me Comes the Flood, published in June 2014 by Serpent's Tail. The novel received international critical acclaim, won the East Anglian Book of the Year Award 2014, and was longlisted for the 2014 Guardian First Book Award and nominated for the 2014 Folio Prize.

Perry has since published two more novels with Serpent's Tail: The Essex Serpent (2016) and Melmoth (2018), both of which have expanded her acclaim, as her work has been translated into 22 languages. In July 2023, she was appointed Chancellor of the University of Essex, marking a significant milestone in her literary and academic career.