Leigh Kennedy was born in Denver, Colorado. After gaining her degree in history, she lived in Austin, Texas for five years, then emigrated to England in 1985. Her jobs have ranged from emptying bedpans to indexing philosophy texts but she has been writing constantly from her early years. She has been short-listed for both the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. Faces, a short story collection appeared in 1986, followed by two novels, The Journal of Nicholas the American and Saint Hiroshima. She presently lives in Hastings with her husband, Christopher Priest, and their two children.