About Erika
Erika was born in Assam to Bengali parents. She grew up in New Delhi, and moved to England in her early twenties. Drawing on her life across both countries, her prize-winning fiction is intimate and truthful and resonates with themes of home and belonging.
Erika began 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).
Drawn by her love of English literature, Erika completed a PhD researching nineteenth-century Indian women writers who wrote in English. Before turning to fiction, she worked as a journalist, writing weekly columns, book reviews, and author features.
Erika's influences are eclectic and global, from Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou to Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy, with a particular love for the short story craft of Claire Keegan and Lucia Berlin. On rainy London days, she loves curling up with a classic, Chekhov, Nabokov, Lampedusa and Emily Brontë are particular favourites.
Erika lives in London with her husband and has two grown-up children.
Erika's favourite places to write are the London Library, with its stacks oozing with literary history, and her attic writing room, accompanied by her devoted Spaniel, Ludo.
Literary Musings
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