Shabnam Minwalla is a Mumbaiholic, an ardent saree shopper, a murder mystery buff and an occasionally frazzled mother of three. She has spent all her life with words -- working as a journalist with The Times of India, writing columns and features in various publications and non-fiction books about facets of Mumbai. She is best-known for her books for children and young adults. 

 Shabnam’s popular books include The Six Spellmakers of Dorabji Street, What Maya Saw, Saira Zariwala is Afraid and the rib-tickling Nimmi series. She has won numerous awards, including the Auther Award, the Neev Book Award and the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Prize for her various books. Her  book Zen – part romance, part history, part politics – won the Crossword Award, the Auther Award, the Valley of Words Award and the Binod Kanoria Award in 2024.

 Shabnam teaches creative writing in a Mumbai college and conducts workshops in schools around the country. She got her MA in Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and was a Chevening Scholar at Wolfson College in Cambridge.