Zareena Subhani

Zareena was born and raised in a Yorkshire mining village and by virtue of being the only brown children in residence as well as being the offspring of ‘The Doctor’, it caused near- celebrity status for her and her brother, resulting in a wide range of gifts that mysteriously appeared on the doorstep. Ranging from huge boxes of crisps to every chewy sweet known to Mankind, these magical treats were feasted upon with delight. Zareena was fortunate enough to be born during the glory days of libraries being in every town and village in the country and she would cycle to hers every week and spend hours in there, (no helmet, no mobile, no parent: it was after all the mid 1970’s). Books have always been Zareena’s place of comfort, but even then, she was aware that she never saw herself in anything she read. Fast forward to now. Zareena writes because it brings her joy. She wants to write stories that at their heart are great adventure stories. But, she also wants to give life and voice to narratives that she wished she’d been able to read as a child.

After completing a degree in English Literature and a PGCE, Zareena has been a teacher for over 30 years. She still loves what she does, mainly because she thinks young people are brilliant and are massively under-rated. She’s hoping every child she’s ever taught will buy at least one of her books.