Alka Joshi

About Alka Joshi

Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Alka Joshi has lived in the U.S. since the age of nine. She is the author of the bestselling novel The Henna Artist (Harper Collins, 2020), which was a Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and a New York Times Best Seller.

Vivid and compelling, the novel portrays one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern. The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel. Of Joshi’s debut, author Sujata Massey says, “Romantic, old-time Rajasthan leaps to life in the skilled hands of Alka Joshi. The Henna Artist brims over with richly drawn customs, locations, and characters. I can hardly wait for Alka Joshi’s next masterpiece.” And the Historical Novel Society notes, “The determination of women to transform their lives and make something of their gifts is a theme that underscores Joshi’s novel.”

Joshi graduated from Stanford University and worked in the fields of advertising and PR before starting her own marketing consultancy. In 2011, she obtained her MFA in Creative Writing from the California College of Arts in San Francisco, California.