Deborah Ellis is a Canadian writer of children's books, including The Breadwinner. The award-winning book tells the story of Parvana, an 11-year-old living in war-torn Kabul, who must pretend to be a boy after her father is sent to prison so she can earn money for her family. The Breadwinner was praised by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film produced by Angelina Jolie. In 2000, Ellis' adventure novel Looking for X won the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text. Her other books include the children's short story collection Sit and nonfiction book Kids of Kabul. She is a member of the Order of Canada.