Sally Rippin was born in Darwin and grew up in South-East Asia. As an adolescent she studied traditional Chinese painting for three years in Shanghai and Hangzhou. Returning to Australia, Sally began to write and illustrate both picture books and junior novels, influenced by her time in China. Sally then moved to France for three years but returned to Melbourne recently, where she now lives with her partner and three children. She won the 1997 Crichton Award for Fang Fang's Chinese New Year.