Berlie Doherty's works range from picture books such as Paddiwak and Cosy to adult novels like Requiem and The Vinegar Jar. However, she is probably best known for her award-winning books for young adults. Doherty has twice received Great Britain's prestigious Carnegie Medal, in 1986 for Granny Was a Buffer Girl, a generational portrait of a family living near Sheffield, England, and in 1991 for Dear Nobody, about the way two teenagers react to an unplanned pregnancy. Magpies contributor Agnes Nieuwenhuizen, in an interview with the author, lists some of Doherty's major themes in her books: "Unlocking the secrets of the past, family and family connections, colour, landscape, domestic detail, the inner life, the search for identity and the precise nature of the bond between mother and child."

Doherty's relationship with her parents provided inspiration for some of her books. She was born in Liverpool, England, on November 6, 1943--in the...