Heather Butler

Heather grew up in a vicarage, which meant her life was filled with a tapestry of random and interesting characters. But what influenced her most was her mum, who could create stories from thin air.

Heather trained as a primary teacher and taught until her sons were born. They often brought toys and other objects to her to be included in bedtime stories. Her sons grew older, but Heather carried on creating, her first children's story book being published in 1996. She later wrote resources for teachers, was writer-in-residence at several schools and lead whole school story writing workshops across the UK.

She discussed her book Helping Children Think About Bereavement (Routledge 2013) on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour just as Us Minus Mum was accepted for publication. It marks a return to writing fiction and is her first book with Little, Brown.