Catherine MacPhail was a Scottish author, born on January 25, 1946, in Greenock, Scotland. Early in her writing career she wrote two romance novels. In 1994, she published her first children's book, Run Zan Run. It won the Kathleen Fidler Award and the Vergheretto in Italy. Fighting Back was her next book. It won the Scottish Arts Council Children's Book Award in 1999. She wrote over thirty books and two series, Granny Nothing and Nemesis. Her novel, Another Me (2003) was made into a film (2015). Her work focused on children's and teen stories, but she also wrote for adults. From 1993 to 1995, she wrote a BBC Radio 2 sitcom, My Mammy and Me. Her awards included receiving the Scottish Children's Book Award three times, the Stockport Book Award, the Red Book Award, and the Grampian Book Award. Cathy MacPhail generously shared her time with children by giving talks at schools and libraries. She died at the age of 75, on September 1, 2021.