Bali Rai was born on 30 November 1971 and is an English author of children's and young adult fiction.
15 Facts About Bali Rai
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Bali Rai has cited Roald Dahl as an early influence on his writing.
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Bali Rai attended Judgemeadow Community College, moving to Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College for sixth form.
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In 1991, Bali Rai moved to London to study at South Bank University, graduating with a 2:1 in politics.
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Bali Rai stayed in London for two years after graduating, but was forced to return to Leicester due to personal circumstances.
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Bali Rai had a number of jobs, including working for a supermarket, in telesales, and managing a bar.
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Bali Rai began to write his first novel, arranged Marriage, during this period.
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Bali Rai showed parts of his debut novel, arranged Marriage, to literary agent Jennifer Luithlen, who agreed to represent him.
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Once the novel had been edited, Bali Rai signed a contract with Transworld.
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Bali Rai has written several books for dyslexia-friendly publisher Barrington Stoke, such as Dream On and its sequel Game On.
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Bali Rai's work has been published in various anthologies, including the 2017 book Here I Stand, raising money and awareness for the human rights charity Amnesty International.
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Bali Rai has made appearances on television and radio to discuss racism, his writing, and promoting reading for pleasure.
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Bali Rai has been an ambassador for The Reading Agency's Reading Ahead programme, and was BookTrust's sixth online writer-in-residence.
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In 2014, Bali Rai received an honorary doctorate from De Montfort University in Leicester.
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Bali Rai has contributed short stories to a number of anthologies, including:.