Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon, north Karnataka. She did her MTech in computer science. A philanthropist, a teacher and an author, she is the chairperson of Murty Foundation. She is also a member of the Rajya Sabha. A prolific writer in English and Kannada, she has penned novels, technical books, travelogues, collections of short stories and non-fiction pieces, and bestselling books for children.

Her books have been translated into all the major Indian languages. Sudha Murty is the recipient of the R.K. Narayan Award for Literature (2006), the Padma Shri (2006), the Attimabbe Award from the Government of Karnataka for excellence in Kannada literature (2011) and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Crossword Book Awards. She weaves magical tales and especially enjoys writing for young readers.

A generation of children has grown up reading her books, and her stories have been included in textbooks across schools in India.