Career
She published her first novel Run with the Hare in 1988, while still working as an English teacher in a comprehensive school. Linda Newbery was born in Romford, Essex, spent most of her childhood in Epping, and attended a grammar school in nearby Loughton. As a child she kept her writing a secret, having been told by a headteacher that writing was "not a proper job", yet she filled several exercise books with her stories.
As a young adult, she also experimented with writing poetry.
She taught English in secondary schools while working on her novels, becoming a full-time writer in 2000.