Prior was born in 1963 in Brisbane, Australia, where she also currently lives with her husband and daughter. Her first fiction book, The Amazing Adventures of Amabel, was published was in 1990 and her internationally successful children's fantasy series, Lily Quench, has been published in more than twenty countries. Prior's work has been a finalist at the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards as well as being honoured and named as notable. Her work, Fireworks and Darkness, won the 2003 Davitt Awards for best young-adult novel and her work, Lily Quench and the Lighthouse of Skellig Mor won the 2003 Aurealis Award for best children's short fiction. She has also been nominated for an Aurealis Award on three other occasions for best short fiction, long fiction and young-adult novel.

Novels

• The Amazing Adventures of Amabel (1990)
• Amabel Abroad (1992)
• Tasha's Witch (1995)
• Yesterday's Heroes (1995)
• West End Shuffle (1996)
• London Calling (1997)
• The Loft (1997)
• Squish (2002)

Lily Quench

• Lily Quench And The Dragon Of Ashby (1999)
• Lily Quench and the Black Mountains (2001)
• Lily Quench and the Treasure of Mote Ely (2002)
• Lily Quench and the Lighthouse Of Skellig Mor (2003)
• Lily Quench and the Magician's Pyramid (2003)
• Lily Quench and the Hand of Manuelo (2004, aka The Secret of Manuelo in the UK)
• Lily Quench and the Search for King Dragon (2004)
• Lily Quench's Companion: And Guide to Dragons and the Art of Quenching (2007)

The Ostermark novels

• Fireworks and Darkness (2002)
• The Star Locket (2006)

The Dolls

• Fashion Follies (2005)
• Susannah's Notebook (2005)
• Horse Fever (2005)
• Kiki's Caravan (2006)

The Minivers

• Minivers On the Run (2008)
• Minivers Fight Back (2009, known as Minivers in Danger in the UK)
• Minivers and the Most Secret Room (2010, known as Minivers and the Secret Room in the UK)
• Minivers Forever (2011; forthcoming)

Picture Books

The Paw (with illustrator Terry Denton)

• The Paw (1993)
• The Paw in Destination: Brazil (1995)
• The Paw in The Purple Diamond (1998)
• The Paw Collection (2007, omnibus of the three books with new b/w artwork)

Other books

• Minnie Pearl and the Undersea Bazaar (2007; illustrator Cheryl Orsini)
• Star (2008; illustrator Anna Pignataro)
• Sun (2008; illustrator Anna Pignataro)

Non fiction

• Bog Bodies, Mummies and Curious Corpses (1994)
• Mysterious Ruins, Lost Cities and Buried Treasure (1994)
• Dance Crazy: Star Turns from Ballet to Belly Dancing (1995)
• Caves, Graves, and Catacombs: Secrets from Beneath the Earth (1996)
• The Demidenko Diary (1996)
• Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt (1998)
• Nero: Evil Emperor of Rome (1998)
• Chewing Gum: How it Fed the Gods, Went into Space and Helped Win the War (2000)
• Chocolate (2000)
• The Recorder (2000)
• The Encyclopedia of Preserved People: Pickled, Frozen, and Mummified Corpses from Around the World (2002)

nataliejaneprior.com, [1]

Aurealis Awards

• Best children's long fiction
• 2002: Nomination: Lily Quench and the Treasure of Mote Ely

• Best children's short fiction
• 2003: Win: Lily Quench and the Lighthouse of Skellig Mor
• 2003: Nomination: Lily Quench and the Magicians' Pyramid

• Best young-adult novel
• 2002: Nomination: Fireworks and Darkness

Davitt Awards

• Best young-adult novel
• 2003:Won: Fireworks and Darkness