Randa Abdel-Fattah was born in Sydney in 1979 and grew up in Melbourne. She has written nine young adult books inspired by her research on racism, including Does My Head Look Big in This? Ten Things I Hate About Me, Where the Streets Had a Name, Buzz Off, The Friendship Matchmaker, The Friendship Matchmaker Goes Undercover, No Sex in the City, Jodie and the Book of You, and Rania and the Book of You.

She worked as a litigation lawyer for ten years and is currently pursuing a PhD exploring everyday multiculturalism and racism in Australia, and remains passionate about my human rights activism. Abdel-Fattah is frequently sought for comment by the media on issues pertaining to Palestine, Islam and Australian Muslims.