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Bali Rai

Bali Rai

Bali Rai was born in 1971 and raised as a working class Punjabi in Leicester. He grew up in a deprived area of Leicester, a city which is almost unique in terms of cultural mix and his style of writing is firmly grounded in the reality that he has seen around him since he was a child. The senior school he attended was about 80% BAME - 20% white children in terms of ethnic makeup.

Bali Rai has been writing short stories and poetry since the age of eight. As a child he made up wild and exciting stories and his imagination has been vivid ever since. At school he excelled at English language and told his teachers that he would one day be a writer.

He left school with eight GCSE’s and English was always his favourite subject. After school he did three a-levels at a local sixth form - none of which was English Literature, which he now regrets. He went on to graduate from Southbank University in London with a 2:1 in politics and since then he has had various jobs in retail, cinema, and telesales and has kept a keen, almost obsessive, interest in current affairs.

Books

  • (Un)arranged Marriage

    (Un)arranged Marriage

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Random House
    Interest age: 14-16
    Reading age: 12+

    This is a brilliant debut novel and it is a refreshing change to see this issue tackled from a male perspective.

  • City of Ghosts

    City of Ghosts

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Corgi
    Interest age: 13+
    Reading age: 11+

    Based around the British massacre of Indians at Amritsar in 1919, Rai’s seventh novel for young adults moves seamlessly through time, place, belief and genre.

  • Fire City

    Fire City

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Corgi Children's
    Interest age: 13+
    Reading age: 10+

    In this terrifying dystopia from Bali Rai, the young, the old and the sick have become the prey of horrifying demons that Fire City's wealthy employ to police the city.

  • Game On

    Game On

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Barrington Stoke
    Interest age: 12+
    Reading age: 8+

    Rai's pacy short novel, in Barrington Stoke's usual dyslexia-friendly format, grips throughout, and will particularly engage football-mad reluctant readers.

  • Now or Never A Dunkirk Story

    Now or Never: A Dunkirk Story

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Scholastic Children’s Books
    Interest age: 10-13
    Reading age: 9+

    Narrated by Private Fazal Khan, a young Muslim soldier in Company 32 of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps, this is a moving and insightful account of a key event in the Second World War. Fifteen-year-old Fazal runs away from his family in northern India and lies about his age to join up and serve the British Empire, just as his grandfather did during World…

  • Politics - cutting through the crap

    Politics - Cutting Through the Crap

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Walker Books

    What is politics? How does Parliament work? Is the great British democracy even a true democracy?

  • Stay A Little Longer

    Stay A Little Longer

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Barrington Stoke
    Interest age: 12-16
    Reading age: 8+

    Since Aman’s father died, nothing has been the same. Then she befriends a new neighbour, who is lonely too. This warm, optimistic book carries a vital message about the importance of confronting and resisting homophobia in all parts of society. 

  • The Angel Collector

    The Angel Collector

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Random House
    Interest age: 13-14
    Reading age: 13+

    This is a thriller suffused with an air of menace, of insecurity, of complex personal tensions and violence.

  • The Gun

    The Gun

    Author: Bali Rai
    Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd
    Interest age: 12-15
    Reading age: 9+

    Deep down, Jonas knew that he shouldn't have taken the gun home: shouldn't have hidden it, shouldn't have shown it to Kamal and should definitely not have let him take it away.

  • The Royal Rebel

    The Royal Rebel: The Life of Suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh

    Author: Bali Rai Illustrator: Rachael Dean
    Publisher: Barrington Stoke
    Interest age: 9-11
    Reading age: 8+

    This fascinating tale highlights a troubling period of British history in an accessible manner. It explores the appalling impact of British rule on India, as well as the brutal treatment faced by women in Britain who demanded equality.

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