First runner-up for the
Scholastic Asian Book Award 2018
Shortlisted for the
AG-BLF Book Prize for Children's Fiction 2023
Shortlisted for the Neev Book Award 2021
Selected for the NLF Reading Challenge 2023
Finalist: Scholastic Asian Book Award 2016
Finalist: Singapore Book Award 2019
Hello!
I love writing for children, and have been writing since I was seven. I began my publishing “career” at the age of seven and a half with a story about a dame (blame Enid Blyton for that) who hated plants. I went on to mice who turned into fairies and pixies who never drove or gave away their cars.
A little older now, I have two collections of short stories, five middle-grade novels, three chapter books, four picture books, two series of books on trains, plus stories and essays here and there.
I also run online book clubs and creative writing programmes for children and teenagers. As a rule, new editions of my book club for ages seven and eight, and Read, Write, Explore for ages nine and ten begin every alternate month. My writing programmes are three months long and are conducted twice a year – April to June, and October to December.
If you would like to receive email notifications about my programmes, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook and Instagram – for regular updates.
Upcoming Programmes
Explore Some of My Books
Published by Duckbill
Dead. My parents are dead.
It’s . . . my fault?
Voices, noises, whispers.
I build a fragile, safe world against it all.
For now, I’m safe.
But will I ever . . . be me?
Fishbowl is my second middle-grade verse novel, one that explores grief and healing as it seeks to make sense of 12-year-old Mahee’s fragmented world.
Red Eyes
Published by Scholastic Asia and Scholastic India
Eleven-year-old Veer Prann runs away from his posh boarding school, where he was bullied, to Suryanagar, where his father is a forest officer. At Suryanagar, he makes friends with the forest guides and learns about the jungle. It’s a different world from boarding school, but nothing prepares Veer for the naked red-eyed girl he sees in a tree one day. The girl, whom Veer calls Medha, is a mystery, an intelligent and intuitive being who communicates with Veer through the psychic transmission of images. Afraid that she will become Suryanagar’s next tourist attraction, Veer must figure out whom to trust and how to save Medha from being caught.
This book is was first published by Scholastic Asia in 2022. It is now available in India too!
Published by Duckbill
Children forced out of their homes
Humans discarded as empty shells
A Machine that sucks out Power.
Secrets
More secrets
And still more secrets-
I must fight a government of evil,
destroy the Machine,
and . . . save my mother.
Me, twelve-year-old Rohini.
Ha. Really?
Parallel worlds, time travel, vortices and an evil Machine come together in this fast-paced fantasy novel in verse. The eternal struggle of good versus evil rages on. Can Rohini and her friends triumph?
Dhara's Revolution
Published by Puffin
Can friendship withstand the test of school elections?
In Sarvaloka Public School, children are referred to as ‘future citizens’, but the teachers never ask the students for their opinions. Nine-year-old Dhara sets out to change this. She starts a revolution and convinces the whole school to vote for the first time. But in the chaos of the elections, Dhara loses sight of what’s really important to her.
Can Dhara find her way back before things get out of control?
Published by Duckbill Books
Jasmine and Sheba want to spend the holidays finding homes for stray puppies. But to do so, they have to first solve a series of puzzles set by Sheba’s father, Clockwala Uncle. Can they do this in time?
This book was shortlisted for the Neev Book Award 2021 in the Emerging Readers category.