Catherine MacPhail (25 January 1946 – 28 August 2021[1]) was a Scottish-born author.

[3] In addition to writing books for children around their teens, she also wrote for adults.

Eejit is a wonderful Scottish/Irish word that seemed to sum me up perfectly when I was growing up."

Act sophisticated, grown up, sensible… and then a story would just plop into my mind and BANG!

"[5] MacPhail grew up with three sisters and a widowed mother, her fatherhaving died when she was two.

She wrote in her website she can always remember thinking what a wonderful place it was, wher one could walk out with a stack full of books and did not even pay for them!

It was inspired by her youngest daughter, Mia, who was being bullied at school.

Fighting Back won one of the first Scottish Arts Council Children's Book Awards in 1999 .