Gillian Philip

Born in Glasgow, Gillian Philip studied Politics and International Relations at university after which she turned her hand to numerous occupations including music shop assistant and wine sales rep. Her first steps into the world of professional writing saw the publication of many short stories in magazines such as the People's Friend and Woman's Weekly.

In 2001 Gillian turned her attention to writing novels for young adults. Her first full length novel Bad Faith, was published in 2008. Her most recent novel, Firebrand, garnered widespread critical acclaim and was chosen as The Times Teenage Book of the Year. Gillian also writes the Darke Academy series which is published under the name Gabriella Poole. On the subject of writing Gillian says ‘Writing for a living is a lot of fun - like taking dictation from the characters in my head, who spend their lives telling me what's going to happen next.’

Read more about Gillian on her website

Read a review of the acclaimed Firebrand in the Guardian