Roshani Chokshi

## Roshani Chokshi

### Notable Works

The Star-Touched Queen DuologyThe Gilded Wolves Trilogy

The Pandava Quintet

**Roshani Chokshi** is the author of commercial and critically acclaimed books for middle grade and young adult readers that draws on world mythology and folklore. Her work has been nominated for the Locus and Nebula awards, and has frequently appeared on Best of The Year lists from Barnes and Noble, Forbes, Buzzfeed and more. Her New York Times bestselling series includes *The Star-Touched Queen Duology*, *The Gilded Wolves Trilogy*, and *The Pandava Quintet*, the series who's first book, *Aru Shah and The End of Time*, which was recently optioned for film by Paramount Pictures.

## Biography

Roshani Chokshi's mother is Filipino and her father is Indian, both immigrants to the United States. She grew up speaking English, rather than her parents' native languages, Tagalog and Gujarati. Chokshi was raised on Hindu mythology, which she often draws on in her novels. Her first novel sold while she attended law school at University of Georgia, and she ultimately dropped out to pursue writing. She cites Neil Gaiman as one of her influences to pursue a writing career.

Chokshi lives in Georgia, US.

## Career

All of Chokshi's first novels in her series debuted on the New York Times bestseller list.

Her middle grade debut, *Aru Shah and the End of Time*, was the first title to launch under author Rick Riordan's Disney-Hyperion imprint, Rick Riordan Presents, in 2018. The Pandava Quintet was originally intended to be only four books long, but later discussions between her and the imprint led to the series being extended to five books.

## Works

### Young Adult Novels

#### The Star-Touched Queen Duology

*The Star-Touched Queen**A Crown of Wishes**Star-Touched Stories**Death and Night: A Star-Touched Novella*
#### The Gilded Wolves Trilogy

*The Gilded Wolves**The Gilded Wolves* (alternative cover)*The Silvered Serpents**The Bronzed Beasts*
### Middle Grade Novels

#### The Pandava Quintet

*Aru Shah and the End of Time**Aru Shah and the Song of Death**Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes**Aru Shah and the City of Gold**Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality*
### Standalone Novels

*The Vishakanya's Choice**Once More Upon A Time*
### Anthologies

*A Thousand Beginnings and Endings**The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities: New Stories About Mythic Heroes**Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices**Three Kisses, One Midnight*
### Other Writing

* ***A Trade At The Fox Wedding, Mythic Delirium***
* ***The Wives of Azhar, Strange Horizons***
* ***The Star Maiden, Shimmer Magazine***

### Poetry

* ***Dancing Princesses, Uncanny Magazine***
* ***Antyesti” (the Hindu burial), Feminist Wire***

## Awards & Nominations

### Awards

* 2020 Southern Book Prize (for *The Gilded Wolves*)

### Nominations

* 2020 Georgia Author of the Year (for *Aru Shah and the Song of Death*)
* 2017 Locus Award for Best First Novel (for *The Star-Touched Queen*)
* 2017 Andre Norton Award (for *The Star-Touched Queen*)

## Trivia

* Roshani Chokshi's favourite character to write, was Kamala, the flesh-eating demon horse from *The Star-Touched Queen* and her most difficult character to write was Zofia Boguska from *The Gilded Wolves*, because the character is on the spectrum, Polish and Jewish; three things the author is not.
* The author's favorite mythological character to be able to bring to life was Meenakshi, also known as Lady M, from *Aru Shah and the Song of Death*, because it made her go back and re-evaluate her character throughout antiquity.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/COIbqKsnh78/
2. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/j1z0un/comment/g72uc34
3. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/j1z0un/comment/g72xnym