Jasbinder Bilan

@jasinbath  jasbinderbilan
www.jasbinderbilan.co.uk

"Kate is the wisest, kindest and most eagle-eyed."

Costa Award-winning children’s author Jasbinder Bilan was born on a farm in the foothills of the Himalayas. Her mum told her she was born in the stables, much to the rest of her family’s delight.

When Jasbinder was one and a half her family moved to Nottingham, England where she grew up. It was a big adjustment for them and they kept India alive by telling funny stories of their life on their farm with the grumpy camel and the mischievous monkey.

In Jasbinder’s writing she creates magical and real worlds and tells gripping adventures inspired by her love of family and home, and of cities and wild places across the UK and India.

Her debut children’s novel Asha And The Spirit Bird won the Times/Chicken House Prize, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, longlisted for the Jhalak Prize, shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Prize and won the Costa Children’s Book Award. Her second novel Tamarind And The Star Of Ishta was longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Prize and won the Indie Children's Book Award. India, Incredible India was shortlisted in the Younger Non-Fiction category of the inaugural The Week Junior Book Awards.

JASBINDER’S BOOKS

Nush & The Stolen Emerald, Chicken House. 2024; Calling the Whales, Barrington Stoke, 2023; Xanthe & The Ruby Crown, Chicken House, 2023; India, Incredible India, Walker Books, 2022; Aarti and the Blue Gods, Chicken House, 2021; Tamarind & the Star of Ishta, Chicken House, 2020; Asha & The Spirit Bird, Chicken House, 2019.

REVIEWERS

“A gorgeous sumptuous read from a master storyteller.”

Hannah Gold

“A jewel of a book.”

Booktrust

“A light-filled, huge-hearted delight of an adventure.”

Katherine Rundell

Latest Book

THE WRITER WHO MOST INSPIRED JASBINDER

CS Lewis. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe was my most beloved book as a girl because of its magic. I also had a wardrobe in my bedroom and I just knew that one day between the winter coats I would find the snowy land of Narnia, I just had to keep looking!

HOW JASBINDER BECAME KATE’S CLIENT

Kate came highly recommended and we first met on a blue-skied autumn day at Somerset House. Sipping strong European style coffees, we bonded over how messy our teenage boys’ rooms were and then the fountains suddenly came on and the morning took on a surreal musical vibe – thankfully neither of us burst into song! The rest as they say is happy history!

JASBINDER ABOUT KATE

Kate is such a wonderful champion of my work – ever enthusiastic, she feels the storylines just as I do, tears and all. Kate is the wisest, kindest and most eagle-eyed – she always has your back.

KATE ABOUT JASBINDER

Jasbinder Bilan has a unique imagination and a beautiful and compelling storytelling voice. She weaves magic into her stories, inspired by her Indian heritage, and creates extraordinary adventures for her very relatable child characters. Her protagonists fall out with each other, they fidget when being lectured to. They are also brave, smart, flawed, caring and unforgettable. Jasbinder’s stories soar - the experience of reading them uplifts us - and yet they are also rooted in nature, in real places and concerned with what home is. I believe that duality is why children love them so much.