Patricia Collins Wrede is an American fantasy writer, born in Chicago, Illinois; she is the eldest of five children. She finished her first book in 1978, working as an accountant and financial analyst in the meantime. In 1980 she was a founding member of The Scribblies who also included Pamela Dean, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Steven Brust, and Nate Bucklin. She is a vegetarian and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her three cats. She has no children of her own, but has four nieces and four nephews.