Raymond Briggs was born in Wimbledon Park, South London in 1934. Developing an early interest in illustration, he attended the Wimbledon School of Art at the age of fifteen. After completing a typography course at the Central School of Art, he went on to study at the Slade School of Fine Art.

A passionate proponent of the art of the strip cartoon, Briggs has created many of his best-known books in this format. His is a formidable canon of work, beginning in the late 1950s. Several of his books have been made into highly acclaimed animated films.

In addition to the Kate Greenaway Medal (for the Mother Goose Treasury and Father Christmas), Briggs has also received the Kurt Maschler Award and the Children's Book of the Year Award (for The Man), the British Book Award's Best Illustrated Book of the Year (for Ethel and Ernest) and the Smarties Silver Prize (for Ug).

He lives in Sussex.