A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, Mairi Hedderwick was a teacher before she started illustrating children's books. As an author and illustrator her most popular character, Katie Morag, was created in 1984. Katie Morag's home on the fictional Hebridean island of Struay is not a million sea miles away from her author's life long association with the Isle of Coll.

In 2013 Katie Morag joined Cbeebies with the successful TV series produced by Move On Up / Struay Films.

Mairi Hedderwick has also written and illustrated many other books for children and adults, all with the backdrop of the Highlands and Islands. She was awarded an Honorary Degree from Stirling University in 2003 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to writing and illustration in Scotland, especially for children.