Frances Hardinge (born 1973) is a British author best known for her novel Fly By Night which in 2006 won the Branford Boase Award and was listed as one of the School Library Journal's Best Books. She has also been shortlisted and achieved a number of other awards for both her novels as well as some of her short stories. Hardinge is often seen wearing a black hat and enjoys dressing in old fashioned clothing.