Patil’s writings have appeared in print and digital publications including Hindustan Times, Mint, Scroll and IndiaSpend. Her book Strangers Across the Border: Indian Encounters in Boomtown China (HarperCollins, Hardback) was short-listed for the First Book Prize (Non-Fiction) at the 2014 Tata Literary Festival in Mumbai. Narrated from the Chinese capital to the Myanmar border and South China Sea coast, it records Chinese perceptions of India from policy-making to public opinion. Patil lived and worked in Beijing from 2008-11 to launch and head the first China bureau of Hindustan Times. Before moving to China, she spent a decade reporting and editing current affairs in India.