Sita Brahmachari was brought up in the Lake District by an Indian doctor father and an English nurse mother, and her parents' life stories and care for others inform her hugely sensitive and socially aware writing. After a career in theatre, her debut novel, Artichoke Hearts , won the 2011 Waterstones Children's Book Prize. Sita lives and writes in North London with her husband, three children, and Billie the dog, and is also involved in numerous charity projects.