Bali Rai's first novel for young adults, (Un)Arranged Marriage, created a huge amount of interest and won many awards, including the Angus Book Award and the Leicester Book of the Year.

It was also shortlisted for the prestigious Branford Boase first novel award. Rani and Sukh and The Whisper were both shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.

Bali is also the author of the hugely popular Soccer Squad series for younger readers. Bali was born in Leicester where he still lives, writing full-time and visiting schools to talk about his books.