Jasbinder Bilan won The Times Chickenhouse Fiction Prize for her debut Asha And The Spirit Bird in 2017.Jasbinder studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, which is where she began writing her magical adventure Asha And The Spirit Bird.She was born in India close to the Himalayas on the family farm. Her mum told her that she was born in a stable which all her brothers and sisters think is very funny!On the farm they had lots of animals including a grumpy camel and a monkey called Oma who they adopted and became part of the family.
Oma used to love carrying Jasbinder’s brother off to the neem tree in the farm-yard where she would rock him to sleep in her arms.One of the things that Jasbinder’s family used to love doing was to sit outside under the starriest of skies, build a big fire and make pop-corn. This is when her uncles and grandma (her majee) would tell stories. Even though she was only a baby, it was those nights that gave her a love for the magic of stories.When she was one and a half her family moved from India to Nottingham. But India was kept alive by continuing to talk about the farm and all the funny things that happened there during big family feasts.As a young girl, Jasbinder always loved writing. In fact she can’t remember a time when she didn’t invent stories, but she never imagined that one day she’d write a story that would win a major prize and be published.Jasbinder loves visiting schools and doing festivals. She will be appearing at The Southbank Centre as part of The Imagine Festival in Feb 2019.
Genres: Children's Fiction
New Books
Novels
Asha & the Spirit Bird (2019)
Tamarind & the Star of Ishta (2020)
Aarti & the Blue Gods (2021)
Xanthe & the Ruby Crown (2023)
Tamarind & the Star of Ishta (2020)
Aarti & the Blue Gods (2021)
Xanthe & the Ruby Crown (2023)
Chapter Books
Jasbinder Bilan recommends

Witch (2020)
Finbar Hawkins
"I felt its dark jewelled cloak fall about my shoulders and magic me to the time of witch-craft. A story that captures sibling rivalry so perfectly and tells its tale so beautifully I didn't want it to finish."

Everyday Magic (2021)
(Alfie Blackstack, book 1)
Jess Kidd
"This charming crazy story had me giggling all the way through - a magical story about the power of true friendship - I loved it!"

Twitch (2021)
(Twitchers, book 1)
M G Leonard
"A brave and thrilling new adventure from one of my favourite writers. I honestly didn’t put the book down until the very last, exciting, page-turn and I’m twitching for the next adventure!"

The Light in Everything (2022)
Katya Balen
"This story literally took me by storm. A brave heart-dive into the deep emotions of Tom and Zofia, it's beautifully told with care and tenderness."

Wilder than Midnight (2022)
(Wilder than Midnight)
Cerrie Burnell
"This story is just the sort I would have loved as a girl - I adored its sparkling words, feisty heroines and spirited narrative as well as its message of loving the body we're born with - pure fairytale magic with so many twists. From the very first turn of the page it swept me under its powerful spell... I would happily have lived there for a hundred years!"
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