Daughter of the bestselling children's author, Jenny Nimmo, Gwen Millward was born in Hitchin, England, but was brought up and went to school in Wales. She studied art at the Edinburgh College of Art, where she graduated with a First in illustration and was awarded the Helen A. Rose Bequest for art. She won the Booktrust Early Years Award for The Bog Baby (written by Jeanne Willis). She now lives in Bristol.