Having grown up in the heart of Leicester's Sikh community, Bali Rai went to London to study Politics. After managing a bar and thinking about becoming a journalist, he now devotes all his time to writing and visiting schools to talk about his books. He is the author of a number of titles for the Random House Children's list, several of which have won awards or been shortlisted; including Unarranged Marriage, which won four regional awards and was shortlisted for five others!The Whisper was shortlisted for the prestigious BookTrust Teenage Prize. Soccer Squad is his first younger book for the RHCB lists.