Sunjeev Sahota is a British novelist, born in 1981 in Derby and raised in Chesterfield. His grandparents had emigrated from the Punjab in 1966, a cultural connection that would later influence his writing. Sahota studied mathematics at Imperial College London and worked in marketing for Aviva insurance company as of January 2011.
Sahota's literary career began later in life, when he discovered the world of storytelling at the age of eighteen. After reading Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children," he immersed himself in the works of Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth, and Kazuo Ishiguro. This newfound passion led him to write his first novel, "Ours are the Streets," published in 2011 by Picador. Despite his day job, Sahota found time to write in the evenings and on weekends. The novel explores the story of a British Pakistani youth who becomes a suicide bomber.
Sahota's breakthrough came in 2015 with his second novel, "The Year of the Runaways," which delves into the experiences of illegal immigrants in Britain. His literary success was recognized in 2013 when he was included in the Granta list of 20 best young British writers. In 2021, Sahota gained further acclaim with the publication of his novel "China Room," a work of literary fiction. Sahota's writing is known for its exploration of complex themes, including identity, immigration, and cultural heritage.