Shefali Kharabanda author page

Shefali Kharabanda biography

Shefali Kharabanda is a children’s and young adult writer whose work focuses on contemporary school life and identity. Her manuscript The Less-Than-Perfect Life of Jaya Kapoor won the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in 2025.

The Less-Than-Perfect Life of Jaya Kapoor follows Jaya as she starts at an independent school in an affluent part of Birmingham and struggles to fit in, a premise praised by the competition judges for humour and warmth. The award carries a £10,000 publishing contract from Chicken House and the discussion of literary representation.

Kharabanda’s novel was announced as the overall winner by Chicken House in November 2025 following the competition’s final judging event.

The Less-Than-Perfect Life of Jaya Kapoor won the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition on 14 November 2025.