Nicholls was born and grew up in Stockton-on-Tees. She attended Great Ayton Friends' School until its closure and subsequently Egglescliffe School until 2001.

On finishing school, Nicholls chose to travel around the world. The author reached Australia and New Zealand, following a period of working in Japan at a Red Cross hospital.

She returned to the United Kingdom to begin a bachelor's degree at the University of Warwick, covering Philosophy and Literature. Completing her undergraduate degree, she signed up to continue with Bath Spa University, taking their "Writing for Young People" master's degree, offered by the School of English and Creative Studies there.

As of 2008, Nicholls lives in London. She is a regular at Quaker meetings including Young Friends General Meeting.

Publications

Nicholls's first novel, Ways to Live Forever, was written during her time at Bath Spa. The story is that of an 11-year-old child called Sam who is dying of leukaemia (a form of cancer), written as the scrapbook of the child.

The book was published by Marion Lloyd Books, part of Scholastic Press in January 2008. It is being made into a movie of the same title to be released in 2010.

Nicholls has completed her second book Season of Secrets which is based on a pagan summer god. This novel originally had the working titles The Green Man and The Midnight Hunter. It was published in April 2009.

Recognition

• Orange New Voices children's prize 2006, for short-story All About Ella.
• Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2008, for Ways to Live Forever. Presented to her by Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen on 13 February 2008.
• Glen Dimplex New Writer of the Year 2008, overall winner, for Ways to Live Forever. Nicholls was presented with the prize and a cheque for ?20,000 by Martin Naughton on 10 November 2008 in Dublin.
• , for (German language translation of Ways to Live Forever). The prize was presented on 11 February 2009 in Hamburg and shared with the translator Birgitt Kollmann.
• Ways to Live Forever (Wie man unsterblich wird) has been shortlisted for the 2009 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.
• Ways To Live Forever was shortlisted for the Redbridge Book Awards 2009 as part of the children's nominees.