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Sayantani DasGupta is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed, Bengali folktale and string theory-inspired Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond books, the first of which--The Serpent’s Secret—was a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, a Booklist Best Middle Grade Novel of the 21st Century, and an EB White Read Aloud Honor Book. Sayantani is a pediatrician by training, but now teaches at Columbia University. When she’s not writing or reading, Sayantani spends time watching cooking shows with her trilingual children and protecting her black Labrador retriever Khushi from the many things that scare him, including plastic bags. She is a team member of We Need Diverse Books, and can be found online at sayantanidasgupta.com and on Twitter at @sayantani16.
Payal Doshi has a Masters in Creative Writing (Fiction) from The New School, New York. Having lived in the UK and US, she noticed a lack of Indian protagonists in global children’s fiction and one day wrote the opening paragraph to what would become her first children’s novel. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and two-year-old daughter. When she isn’t writing or spending time with her family, you can find her nose deep in a book with a cup of coffee or daydreaming of fantasy realms to send her characters off into. She loves the smell of old, yellowed books. Rea and the Blood of the Nectar, the first book in The Chronicles of Astranthia series is her debut middle grade novel.
Reem Faruqi moved to Peachtree City, Georgia, from Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, when she was 13 years old. She based her first award-winning children’s book “Lailah’s Lunchbox” on her own experiences as a young Muslim girl, of Pakistani origin, immigrating to the United States. She has three new books projected for 2021, her debut middle grade novel “Unsettled” (HarperCollins), and two picture books: “Amira’s Picture Day”(Holiday House) and “I Can Help.” (Eerdmans). She also has a non-fiction picture book, Milloo’s Mind, due in 2023 (HarperCollins). She loves to doodle, write, and take photos. She lives with her family in Atlanta.
Rajani LaRocca is a book lover, doctor, and foodie who was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area. Her debut middle grade novel, Midsummer’s Mayhem (Yellow Jacket), is an Indian-American mashup of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and competitive baking. Her debut picture book, Seven Golden Rings: A Tale of Music and Math is set in ancient India and introduces the basics of binary numbers. Learn more about her at www.RajaniLaRocca.com and on Twitter and Instagram @rajanilarocca.
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