Photo by Ellen Montelius

I was born in New York City on leap year day, grew up on Long Island and now live in Kent, England. I’ve always been in love with words and as a young child would make greeting cards (which I would hide under my mother’s pillow) and write stories and plays (which I had my sister perform with me for our long-suffering babysitters). At the age of twelve I wrote my first poem. It was around that time I read a biography about the Brontë sisters and decided that I wanted to be a writer too.

I graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta, but spent my third year studying at Goldsmith’s College, London. On arrival I immediately fell in love with England. Though I’ve lived here for many years I haven’t lost my accent, and people still ask me how long I’m staying. I work as a fiction editor of children's books at Walker Books.

I write poetry and children’s books. My first poetry collection, The Tailor’s Three Sons and Other New York     Poems, won the Mslexia Poetry Pamphlet Competition and was published in 2015. Crossing Into Tamil Nadu won a Templar Quarterly Poetry Prize and was published in 2016. I am greatly looking forward to the publication of my first full-length collection, The Disappearing Room, in July 2018 with Arc Publications. This year also sees the publication of my new picture book, The Tall Man and the Small Mouse, with fabulous illustrations by Birgitta Sif, publishing in November with Walker Books. My other picture books include Snip Snap, Alligator!, Glitter Kitty and the Oliver books. I love seeing my words come to life through illustration and I’m happiest when I’m working on both poetry and picture books.