Katie Lucy Hickman (born 6 December 1960) is an English novelist and travel writer. She was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Hickman studied English literature at Pembroke College, Oxford. The daughter of John Kyrle Hickman, a diplomat and author, and Jennifer Olive (Love) Hickman, she began her career as a travel writer. Her first book was Dreams of the Peaceful Dragon (1987), an account of a journey across Bhutan. She followed it with A Trip to the Light Fantastic (1993), which was shortlisted for the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award. Her next book, Daughters of Britannia: the Lives and Times of Diplomatic Wives (1999) was a best-seller, and launched her as an author of history books. It was serialised on the BBC Radio 4 series Woman's Hour. Her first novel, The Quetzal Summer (1992), resulted in her being nominated for the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year Award.Hickman is married to philosopher A. C. Grayling and they have a daughter, Madeleine.