I got tagged today by a friend for a question about who is writing books for South Asians in the UK. And we all tagged people we knew and then I realised, it was good to create a list we can all share.
As the aunt of mixed-raced kids whose cultures are meshed in and we feed them quite a lot of both Indian and British stories, it’s important for our children to see stories that are about them too.
So I’ve started a list here. If you have more people to add to this, please first check if they’re part of South Asian heritage and if they are British either by residency or by nationality. If so, do message me on twitter at @csoundar and I’ll add them to this list.
Also I’ve indicated ages the authors have books in. If you’re one of the listed authors and you want to change it, do let me know. This is just an indication for parents and teachers/ librarians. Authors are always experimenting and writing new things.
British South Asian KidLit Authors
| Name | Age-range of books written | Twitter Handle | Website |
| Chitra Soundar | 3 plus | @csoundar | www.chitrasoundar.com |
| Nizrana Farook | 9 plus | @NizRite | |
| Nadia Shireen | 3 plus | @NadiaShireen | etsy.me/2E8Fo5h |
| Smriti Prasadam-Halls | 0 plus | @smritiPH | Smirti.co.uk |
| Yasmin Rahman | YA | @YasminwithanE | |
| Swapna Haddow | 7 plus | @swapnahaddow | Swapnahaddow.co.uk |
| Sita Brahmachari | 13 plus | @sitabrahmachari | Sitabrahmachari.com |
| Savita Kalhan | YA | @savitakalhan | Savitakalhan.com |
| Bali Rai | 9 plus | @balirai | Balirai.co.uk |
| Nikesh Shukla | YA | @nikeshshukla | Nikesh-shukla.com |
| Ranjith Singh | 3 plus | @ranjiththeauthor | |
| Rashmi Sirdeshpande | @rashmiwriting | rashmisirdeshpande.com | |
| Sufiya Ahmed | YA | @sufiyaahmed | https://mbalit.co.uk/client/sufiya-ahmed/ |
| Jasbinde Bilan | 9 plus | @jasinbath | |
| Sarwat Chadda | 9 plus | @sarwatchadda | |
| Narinder Dhami | 9 plus | @narinderd | |
| Jamila Gavin | 3 plus | @jamilaji | http://www.jamilagavin.co.uk |
| Irfan Master | 9 plus | @irfan_master | http://irfanmaster.com |
| Taran Matharu | 9 plus | @TaranMatharu1 | http://authortaranmatharu.com |
| Zanim Mian | 9 plus | @Zendibble | http://www.sweetapplebooks.com |
| Serena Patel | 9 plus | @SerenaKPatel | |
| Leila Rasheed | 7 plus | @LeilaR | https://leilarasheeddotcom.wordpress.com |
British South Asian KidLit Illustrators
| Name | Website | ||
| Poonam Mistry | @pmistryartist | https://www.poonam-mistry.com/ | |
| Rikin Parekh | @r1k1n | https://www.rikinparekh.com/ | |
| Lucy Banaji | @Lucy_Banaji | lucybanaji.com | |
| Baljinder Kaur | @Ballyjinder | baljinderkaur.com | |
| Jen Khatun | Jen Khatun | https://www.jenkhatun.com/ |
Also check out http://www.speaking-volumes.org.uk/projects/breaking-new-ground/ for over 100 BAME creators in the UK.