Sita Brahmachari

Sita Brahmachari (born 1966) is a British author known for her work in children's and young adult literature. Her debut novel, Artichoke Hearts, later published in the United States as Mira in the Present Tense, won the 2011 Waterstones Children's Book Prize.

Early life and education
Brahmachari was born in Derby, England in 1966. Her father was a doctor from Kolkata, who emigrated from India in the 1950s, and her mother was a nurse from Lake District.

After completing her A-levels, Brahmachari worked as an au pair in France, and attended Le Cours Florent Drama College. She later attended Bristol University and completed a Master of Arts at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career
Brahmachari's debut novel, Artichoke Hearts, which was later published in the United States as Mira in the Present Tense, was based on her mother-in-law and published by Macmillan in 2011. The book won the 2011 Waterstones Children's Book Prize. The novel was followed by Jasmine Skies, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.

The following year, Brahmachari took on the position of Writer-in-Residence at the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants. The same year, she became Patron of Reading at Fortismere School.

Brahmachari also wrote the script for The Arrival, a play based on a graphic novel by Shaun Tan, which was produced by Kristine Landon-Smith in 2013.

In 2015, Brahmachari was appointed as an online writer-in-residence with BookTrust for a six-month term.

She has also been a human rights ambassador for Amnesty International.

Awards and recognitions
In 2018, Tender Earth was on the IBBY honour list for writing. In 2018, Where the River Runs Gold was selected as the Waterstone's Children’s Book of the Month (July 2019). In 2020, When Secrets Set Sail was selected as a Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Month. In 2021, When Shadows Fall was named one of the best children's books of the year by The Guardian and The Times.

Plays

 * Based on the original illustrated novel by Shaun Tan.

Contributions

 * Re-Imagine India-UK Cultural Relations in the 21st Century (Bloomsbury 2014) ISBN 978-9382951346
 * I'll Be Home for Christmas (Little Tiger 2016) ISBN 978-1847157720
 * Here I Stand (Walker Books 2016) ISBN 1406373648
 * A Country of Refuge (Unbound 2016) ISBN 978-1783522682
 * A Country to Call Home (Unbound 2018) ISBN 978-1783526048
 * Diverse Shorts (The English and Media Centre 2018) ISBN 978-1906101510
 * The Book of Hopes (Bloomsbury Children's Books 2020) ISBN 978-1526629883
 * Iridescent Adolescent (The English and Media Centre 2020) ISBN 978-1906101688
 * Swallowed by a Whale - How to Survive the Writing Life (British Library 2020) ISBN 9780712353038
 * Letters From Lockdown (Hodder & Stoughton Home 2021) ISBN 978-1526364364
 * Poems for Schools (Magma Poetry 2023)
 * Our Rights - Stories and Poems About Children's Rights (Otter-Barry 2023) ISBN 9781913074210
 * Our Rights - Stories and Poems About Children's Rights (Otter-Barry 2023) ISBN 9781913074210