Author Bio
Short bio:
Adiba Jaigirdar is the award-winning, critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of The Henna Wars, Hani & Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, A Million to One, and The Dos and Donuts of Love. A Bangladeshi/Irish writer and former teacher, she has an MA in Postcolonial Studies from the University of Kent, England and a BA in English and History from UCD, Ireland. She is the winner of the YA book prize 2022, the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards 2021, and was a finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary awards. All of her writing is aided by tea, and a healthy dose of Janelle Monáe and Hayley Kiyoko. When not writing, she is probably ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, or expanding her overflowing lipstick collection. She can be found at adibajaigirdar.com or @adiba_j on Twitter and @dibs_j on Instagram.
Long bio:
Adiba Jaigirdar was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and has been living in Dublin, Ireland from the age of ten. She has a BA in English and History from University College Dublin, and an MA in Postcolonial Studies from the University of Kent.
Her debut, The Henna Wars, was selected as one of the best YA books of all time by Time Magazine. It was also shortlisted for multiple awards, including the Gooodreads Choice Awards, and won two KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards. It was named a best book of the year by Kirkus. Her sophomore novel, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, won the YA Book Prize 2022. It was shortlisted for multiple awards, including the Irish Book Award and the Lambda Literary Award (The Lammys), and was a midwest Indie Bestseller.
Her first YA historical A Million To One is forthcoming from HarperCollins in 2022, and her next YA romcom, The Dos and Donuts of Love, is slated to release in 2023 with Feiwel and Friends, Macmillan. She has also contributed non-fiction essays to Allies: Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, And Trying Again, and Writing In Color: The Lessons We’ve Learned, forthcoming from Simon & Schuster in 2023.
Adiba has been a mentor in Pitch Wars, Author Mentor Match, Avengers of Colour, and the Desi Kidlit Community Mentorship Programme. She has written for Bookriot, The Irish Times, and the Irish Examiner, and is a former editor for Cultured Vultures. When not writing, she can be found ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, and expanding her overflowing lipstick collection.
