Kay Bourne was born and brought up in Rochdale, Lancs.  After studying journalism at King's College London, she was a reporter on The Finchley Press.  During the War, she worked in the Land Army in Wiltshire.  After marrying, she lived in London and Manchester but in 1963 moved to Edinburgh.  She jointly started Graffiti which published pieces by a wide range of international writers.  She has written for The Guardian and The Scotsman, worked for many years as an opinion-poll interviewer and extensively defended human rights through Amnesty International.  Kay Bourne has two sons and one daughter.