Susan Hill, a full-time writer since 1963, has written over forty novels, numerous nonfiction books, novellas, short stories, and several books for children. In addition to her writing, she edits short-story compilations, writes a monthly column for the Daily Telegraph, and runs a literary magazine, Books and Company. She has also formed a publishing company, Long Barn Books, inspired by her lifelong admiration for Virginia Woolf and the Hogarth Press. She was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and has won the Whitbread, Somerset Maugham, and John Llewellyn Rhys awards for her adult novels, as well as the Smarties Prize for a children's book.