Colin McNaughton was born in Wallsend, Northumberland, U.K. in 1951. He trained in graphic design at the Central School of Art and Design in London followed by an M.A. in illustration at the Royal College of Art. His first book was published while he was still at the RCA. He lives in London.

His most notable book is perhaps There's an Awful Lot of Weirdos in Our Neighbourhood, a collection of poetry written in conjunction with Allan Ahlberg (illustrated by Allan's wife Janet) and which was published in 1989.