Kiran Manral is an Indian author. Based in Mumbai, she published her first novel The Reluctant Detective in 2011. Karmic Kids her first non-fiction work, is an introduction to parenting based on her own experience of raising a son. Manral is the founder of India Helps, a network of volunteers who assist disaster victims.
Biography
Born in Mumbai on 22 June 1971, Manral studied at Duruelo Convent High School in Mumbai and graduated in English from Mithibai College in 1991. After working as an advertising copywriter, she joined the news service at Mumbai's DSJ TV and went on to work as a feature writer for The Times of India and Cosmopolitan India. In 2000, she became a freelance journalist and, from 2005, a blogger creating "Thirtysixandcounting" and "Karmickids". At their height, both were considered to be among the most popular blogs in India, before she closed them down in order to devote more time to motherhood. She then turned to writing, publishing The Reluctant Detective in 2011. Telling the humorous story of how a bored housewife confronted with successive murders becomes a detective, it received generally positive reviews. Once upon a Crush which followed in 2014 describes the romance experienced by an office girl who constantly runs into misfortunes. Manral comes up with another intriguing romance in her All Aboard, this time set on a Mediterranean cruise ship. Even The Times of India recommended it as a novel which could not simply be dismissed as "chick-lit". The same year, Manral published her first non-fiction work, Karmic Kids, describing her experience of bringing up her spirited son from childbirth to age ten. One highly positive review calls for the book "to be read by everyone", not just mothers. Set in the Himalayan foothills, her novel, The Face at the Window, is in sharp contrast to her earlier works. Described as "a dark brooding story of mysterious, concealed identities", it presents the frightening experiences of a retired school teacher which begin during a violent thunderstorm. Her novella, Saving Maya, was long listed for the Saboteur Awards UK, supported by the Arts Council England. She published Missing, Presumed Dead, a psychological thriller in 2018. The Times of India called it "a must-read for everyone who knows a dear one battling mental illness." In 2019, she published 13 Steps to Bloody Good Parenting which she co-wrote with bestselling author, Ashwin Sanghi as part of his 13 Steps series. She has also written the True Love Stories series and A Boy's Guide To Growing Up for Juggernaut, an online app based reading platform. Her novels, The Face at the Window and Missing, Presumed Dead were both long listed for JioMAMI Word to Screen and The Face at the Window was also shortlisted for the Singapore South Asian Film Festival.
