Celia Rees was born in Solihull, West Midlands, UK. She studied History and Politics at Warwick University and has a Master's Degree from Birmingham University. She taught English in city comprehensive schools for seventeen years before beginning her writing career. She is the author of over twenty acclaimed books for young adults, and has won various prizes both in Britain and abroad. Her work has been translated into twenty-eight languages. Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook is her first adult novel. Celia lives in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, with her husband.