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. In 2025, Brahmachari was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
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. +Awards for Brahmachari's writingYearTitleAwardResultRef.2011Artichoke HeartsWaterstones Children's Books PrizeWinner 2012Artichoke HeartsRedbridge Children's Book AwardWinner2012Artichoke HeartsCarnegie MedalLonglist2013Jasmine SkiesCarnegie MedalLonglist2014Kite SpiritUKLA Book AwardLonglist2016Red LeavesCarnegie Medal Nominee2018Tender Earth Little Rebels AwardShortlist2018Tender Earth IBBY Certificate of HonourWinner2018Tender EarthCarnegie MedalNominee2018Worry AngelsJhalak PrizeLonglist2019Worry AngelsCarnegie MedalNominee2019Zebra Crossing Soul SongCarnegie MedalNominee2023When Shadows FallCarnegie Medal Shortlist
Publications
Novels
Mira Levenson series
Reviews of Artichoke Hearts Reviews of Jasmine Skies
Standalone books
Novellas
Reviews of Corey's Rock
Phoenix Brothers. Oxford University Press 2025.
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
References
External links Stories have the power to create a more hopeful world Sita Brahmachari's top five story telling tips