Sona Charaipotra is an American entertainment and lifestyle journalist, and author of young adult fiction. She is best known for her YA lit column on Parade.com and her YA series Tiny Pretty Things.
Early life
Charaipotra is Indian-American, born to two pediatrician parents. Despite family hopes of becoming a doctor, she chose to become a writer. She has two siblings. Charaipotra attended Rutgers University with a double-major in journalism and American Studies. She earned a master's degree in Dramatic Writing and South Asian Diaspora Studies from NYU in 2006. In 2012, Charaipotra graduated with an MFA in from The New School, where she studied creative writing in the Writing for Children program.
Career
Aside from writing novels, she is a freelance journalist and editor for entertainment sites like Teen Vogue, Vulture.com, Bustle and other US media. Charaipotra has made a name as a celebrity journalist for People and an editor at the now defunct TeenPeople. In 2013, Charaipotra co-founded CAKE Literary, a "boutique book development company with a decidedly diverse bent", with her Tiny Pretty Things co-author Dhonielle Clayton. The two friends met at The New Schoolat the beginning of their MFA and bonded over a shared feeling that they were unrepresented in children and YA books growing up and wanting to change that. They founded CAKE Literary on the belief that "rich, diversity-infused reads that are still compulsively readable — and very relatable" are possible. The company focuses on developing readable, high concept ideas to middle grade, YA, and women's fiction. Charaipotra is a team member of We Need Diverse Books, a non-profit organization focused on increasing diversity in book publishing. She is also a screenwriter, whose projects have been developed by MTV films.
Selected works
Her solo debut, Symptoms of a Heartbreak, was inspired by shows like Doogie Howser, M.D. Charaipotra saw the novel as an opportunity to write a similar story with Indian protagonists.
Novels
Tiny Pretty Things Series, co-authored with Dhonielle Clayton.
