Kerry Hardie was born in 1951 and grew up in County Down. She now lives in County Kilkenny with her husband, the writer Seán Hardie.

Her poems have won many prizes. The Gallery Press has published A Furious Place (1996), Cry for the Hot Belly (2000), The Sky Didn't Fall (2003), The Silence Came Close (2006) and Only This Room (2009). Her first novel, Hannie Bennet's Winter Marriage appeared in 2000; another, The Bird Woman was published in 2006. Kerry is a member of Aosdána.