Moira Young was born in 1959 in New Westminster, British Columbia, and is of Scots and Cornish descent. After graduating from the University of British Columbia with a degree in European History, she moved to the UK to attend The Drama Studio, gaining her equity card on the alternative comedy circuit in the mid-80s. She became a tap-dancing chorus girl in London’s West End, appearing in 'High Society', directed by Richard Eyre, before returning to Canada and retraining as an opera singer. In 1991, Moira won the Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions in Western Canada and she has sung in opera throughout the UK and Europe.
Moira wrote her first book aged nine but after being bitten by the theatre bug, she didn’t take up writing again until 2003, when she enrolled on Elizabeth Hawkins’ Writing for Children course and workshop at the City Lit. In 2006, Moira moved to Bath, where she still lives with her husband, and worked at the Bath Chronicle as PA to the Editor. She is now a full-time writer and is currently working on Rebel Heart, the sequel to Blood Red Road. Blood Red Road won the 2011 Costa Children's Book Award and was optioned for film by Ridley Scott.
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