Bali Rai facts for kids

Bali Rai (born November 30, 1971) is an English writer who creates exciting books for young people, including children and teenagers. He is known for his stories that often explore important topics for young adults.

Bali Rai's Early Life

Bali Rai was born in Leicester, England, in 1971. His parents were from Punjab. When he was eleven, Bali Rai read a book called The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. This book, written by Sue Townsend, made him want to become a writer himself. He also looked up to Roald Dahl as a big inspiration for his stories.

He went to Judgemeadow Community College and then to Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College. In 1991, he moved to London to study Politics at London South Bank University. After university, he lived in London for two years. He then moved back to Leicester. During this time, he worked different jobs, like in a supermarket and managing a bar. It was then that he started writing his first novel, (Un)arranged Marriage.

Becoming a Writer

Bali Rai showed parts of his first novel, (Un)arranged Marriage, to a literary agent named Jennifer Luithlen. She liked it and agreed to help him. After the book was ready, Rai signed a contract with Transworld Publishers. The novel was published in 2001 and was very popular.

Popular Books and Themes

His book Rani & Sukh came out in 2004. Bali Rai described it as a mix of Shakespeare, Bollywood movies, and old Punjabi folk tales. This book later became a set-text for the GCSE exams in schools. He has also written several books for Barrington Stoke, a publisher that makes books easier to read for people with dyslexia. Some of these books include Dream On and its follow-up, Game On. His stories have also appeared in collections of short stories. One of these was the 2017 book Here I Stand, which helped raise money for Amnesty International, a charity that protects human rights.

Promoting Reading

Bali Rai has appeared on TV and radio. He talks about his writing and why reading for fun is so important. He has also worked as an ambassador for The Reading Agency's Reading Ahead program. He was also a special online writer for BookTrust. In 2019, he became an ambassador for Listening Books, a charity that provides audiobooks. In 2014, De Montfort University in Leicester gave Bali Rai an honorary doctorate. This is a special award that recognizes his achievements.

Awards and Recognitions

Bali Rai has won many awards for his books. Here are some of them:

Bali Rai's Books

Here is a list of some of the books Bali Rai has written:

• (Un)arranged Marriage (2001)
• The Crew (2003)
• What's Your Problem? (2003)
• Rani and Sukh (2004)
• The Whisper (2005)
• Dominoes and Other Stories (2005)
• The Last Taboo (2006)
• The Angel Collector (2007)
• City of Ghosts (2009)
• Killing Honour (2011)
• The Guru and The King (2012)
• Fire City (2012)
• Demon Hunter (2012)
• The Night Run (2014)
• Kiss of Death (2014)
• Web of Darkness (2014)
• Tales from India (2017)
• Doctor Who: Rebellion on Treasure Island (2023)

Soccer Squad Series

• Starting Eleven (2008)
• Missing! (2008)
• Stars! (2008)
• Glory! (2008)

Tales from Devana High Series

• Concrete Chips (2004)
• Sold as Seen (2005)
• Jugglin' (2006)
• Trouble (2013)
• Secrets (2013)

Books for Barrington Stoke

These books are often designed to be easy to read for everyone, including those with dyslexia.

• Dream On (2002)
• Two Timer (2005)
• Revenge of the Number Two (2007)
• Are You Kidding? (2008)
• Them and Us (2009)
• The Gun (2011)
• Shivers (2013)
• Old Dog, New Tricks (2014)
• Game On (2015), a sequel to Dream On
• The Harder They Fall (2017)

Contributed Stories

Bali Rai has also written short stories for various collections, including:

• Thirteen (2005)
• Losing It, edited by Keith Gray (2010)
• How to be a Boy, edited by Tony Bradman (2011)
• The Library Book (2012)
• Love Hurts, edited by Malorie Blackman (2015)
• Here I Stand, by Amnesty International (2017)