Zoe Antoniades was born in West London to Greek Cypriot parents. She graduated from the University of Hull with a degree in English and Drama and trained as a teacher at the Institute of Education. She has taught maths, English and the arts and worked on a wide range of creative projects in partnership with the Southbank Centre, the Royal Albert Hall, the Young Vic and the Polka Theatre. She also writes collaboratively with young people and has published four anthologies of short stories. Her memoir, Tea and Baklavas, won the Winchester Writers’ Festival Memoir Prize.