British writer, editor, lecturer, activist and advocate for puppetry. Trained as an actress, Penny Francis discovered puppets through her husband, actor Derek Francis, with whom she staged four (amateur) string puppet (marionette) shows in a 30-seat theatre built in the garden of their Barnes, London home in 1961. Penny Francis volunteered her services to the puppet organizations in 1970 to assist in the establishment of a national centre; she discovered a talent for advocacy and went on to be one of the founders of the Puppet Centre Trust in 1974, a high-profile and effective organization dedicated to the promotion and practice of puppetry in all its forms.