Diane Taylor is a journalist who writes for the Guardian, the Observer and the Independent and has also written for a range of women’s magazines including Marie Claire, Eve and Bella. She specialises in writing human stories, often about women and the challenges they face in today’s world. Diane’s capacity to empathise with strong personal stories is therefore significant and her first book, CATCH ME BEFORE I FALL, written with Rosie Childs, was published by Virgin Books in 2006 and immediately spent five weeks in the Sunday Times bestseller list. MY NAME IS ANGEL, written with Rhea Coombs and published by Virgin Books, followed in 2007, as did PLAYING THE FAT GIRL written with Hollyoaks star Mikyla Dodd (2007) and RUNAWAY, an inspirational memoir with Lorraine Skye (2008), both for Hodder & Stoughton. The revealing story of Glaswegian policewoman Anne Ramsay’s life, GIRL IN BLUE (Macmillan), was also published in 2008, and SENTENCED TO HELL, the story of Natalie Welsh’s imprisonment in Venezuela for drug-smuggling, was published by Little, Brown in 2009.

In 2010 Diane wrote A LONG WAY FROM PARADISE (Virago) with Leah Chishugi, a courageous survivor of the Rwandan genocide and campaigner – through her charity Everything is a Benefit – for the women in eastern Congo and also IN MY DREAMS I DANCE (HarperTrue) the inspiring memoir of Paralympic athlete, Anne Wafula.  Most recently, Diane has worked alongside midwives Maria Dore and Ros Bradbury on ONE BORN EVERY MINUTE, the tie-in book to the hugely successful Channel 4 Bafta-winning series, which was published in early 2011 by Sphere.

Diane Taylor lives in North London with her partner, journalist Simon Hattenstone, and their two daughters, Alix and Maya.