Heidi McKinnon was born and grew up in Tamworth NSW. After a childhood spent trying to avoid country music she moved to Melbourne and studied art and design at RMIT. After graduating, she worked lots of weird jobs until she began a career as a Graphic Designer. Heidi's first picture book, I Just Ate My Friend, was shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Children's Book Council Crichton Award and has been published around the world, including in the USA, France, Japan and Korea.