Erika's short stories are shaped by her life in both India and England, exploring themes of home, belonging, and identity.
Erika turned to writing fiction a decade ago. She is an alumna of The Faber Academy's six-month 'Writing a Novel' course and The London Library Emerging Writers Programme 2019-20.
She won the 2025 Harper's Bazaar Short Story Prize for "Christopher." Her stories have been short and long listed by the Bridport Prize, Bristol Short Story Prize, Fish Short Story Prize, V.S. Pritchett Prize, and BBC Short Story Award.
Her fiction has appeared in several international literary journals and anthologies. Read ‘Hibiscus Thief’ published by Fairlight Books and ‘She Came to Stay’ in ‘Same Same But Different’, an anthology published by Everything With Words.
Before turning to writing fiction, Erika pursued a career in journalism. She was a weekly columnist for The Times of India (2000-2003) and has written for The Statesman, The Asian Age, The Observer, and The National, interviewing literary figures including Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Arundhati Roy, and Mohsin Hamid.
Born in Assam to Bengali parents, Erika grew up in New Delhi and came to England in her early twenties, drawn by her love for English literature. After moving to England, Erika studied for a PhD in English, focusing on nineteenth-century Indian women writers who wrote in English. These early pioneers, including Toru Dutt and Krupabhai Satthianadhan, have been a strong inspiration for her own fiction.
Erika's influences are eclectic and global. Some of her favourite authors include Louise Erdrich, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Marillyn Robinson, Claire Keegan, Zadie Smith, Colm Tóibín, Mary Lavin, Jhumpa Lahiri, Arundhati Roy, Mary Gaitskill, and Lucia Berlin—to name just a few. On rainy London days Erika loves curling up with a classic, among her favourites are Chekhov, Nabokov, Turgenev, Emily Bronte and Jane Austen.
Erika now lives in London with her husband. She has two grown-up children.
Her favourite places to write are the iconic London Library, with its shelves filled with literary history, and her writing room in the attic, where her companions are her wise old cat Count Vladimir and devoted Cocker Spaniel Ludo.