Noriko Ogiwara is a Japanese fantasy writer and novelist born in 1959 in Tokyo's Shibuya district. She graduated from Waseda University's Department of Japanese Language and Literature. As a child, reading C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia inspired her to become a fantasy writer. She began her professional writing career in 1988.

Ogiwara's debut work was Sorairo Magatama (空色勾玉), published in 1988. This novel won several awards for children's literature and was later translated into English by Cathy Hirano as Dragon Sword and Wind Child. The book is the first in a trilogy that includes Hakuchou Iden (白鳥異伝, 1991) and Usubeni Tennyo (薄紅天女, 1996), which together are known as The Jade Trilogy, also referred to as the Broken Sky or Haten Trilogy. The English translations of these works were published by Viz Media, with Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince appearing in May 2011.

Among her most significant works in relation to anime and manga is Nishi no Yoki Majo (西の善き魔女), known in English as The Good Witch of the West or The Good Witch of the West Astraea Testament. This western-styled high fantasy novel series was published by Chuokoron-Shinsha from 1997 to 2003, comprising eight volumes including three side stories. The series was adapted into a manga illustrated by Haruhiko Momokawa, which was serialized in Mag Garden's Comic Blade from July 2004 to December 2007. An anime television adaptation produced by Hal Film Maker and directed by Katsuichi Nakayama aired in Japan from April 8, 2006 to July 1, 2006, spanning thirteen episodes. The story follows Firiel Dee, a fifteen-year-old commoner who discovers she is a princess and a candidate for the throne. Both the novels and manga were licensed for English release in North America by Tokyopop.

Ogiwara also authored Red Data Girl (RDG レッドデータガール), a fantasy novel series first published in 2008 consisting of six books. This series was adapted into an anime television series in 2013, produced as part of Kadokawa Bunko's 65th anniversary commemorative project.

Throughout her career, Ogiwara has received numerous literary awards, including the 23rd Japanese Children's Literature Association Newcomer Award in 1989, the Sankei Children's Publishing Culture Award in 1994 and again in 2006, the 27th Akai Tori Literary Award in 1997, the 55th Shogakukan Children's Publishing Culture Award in 2006, and the 46th Japanese Children's Literature Association Award in 2006. Her works frequently blend Japanese mythology and historical settings with fantasy elements, as seen in the ancient Japanese backdrop of The Jade Trilogy, alongside western-style high fantasy as demonstrated in The Good Witch of the West.