Paula Meehan was born in 1955 in Dublin where she lives. She studied at Trinity College, Dublin, where she has been Writer Fellow of the English Department, and at Eastern Washington University.

She has also written plays; held a creative writing fellowship at University College, Dublin; worked with inner city communities; and conducted workshops in prisons.

She received the Marten Toonder Award in 1995 and the Butler Literary Award in 1998.