Yvonne Bailey-Smith was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the UK in 1969 when she was a teenager. She trained and worked first as a social worker before becoming a psychotherapist. She is also a Water Aid Supporter and passionate about providing clean water and sanitation in developing countries.

Her debut novel, The Day I Fell Off My Island (Myriad Editions), is a coming-of-age story of Erna Mullings, a young Jamaican girl who grows up with her grandparents in the country before eventually migrating to England to join her mother and siblings. It was shortlisted for four awards: the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award 2022, the Diverse Book Awards 2022, the Paul Torday Memorial Prize 2022, and the RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2022.