Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Qaisra Shahraz is a prize-winning and critically acclaimed novelist and scriptwriter. Born in Pakistan, she has lived in Manchester (UK) since childhood and gained two Masters Degrees in English and European literature and scriptwriting. Being a highly successful and achieving woman on an international scale, Qaisra was recognised as being one of 100 influential Pakistani women in Pakistan Power 100 List (2012). Previously she was nominated for the Asian Women of Achievement Awards and for the Muslim News Awards for Excellence. She is a Director of Asia Pacific Writers and Translators partnership. Her novels, The Holy Woman and Typhoon, are translated into several languages. The Holy Woman (2001) won the Golden Jubilee Award, was 'Best Book of the Month' at Waterstones and has become a bestseller in Indonesia and Turkey. She has appeared in many international writers’ festivals and book fairs including in Ubud, Makassar, Abu Dhabi, Ottawa, Jaipur, Philadelphia and Beijing. Her award-winning drama serial Dil Hee To Hai was broadcast on Pakistani Television in 2003. Qaisra has recently completed a third novel Revolt, two volumes of short stories: A Pair of Jeans and Train to Krakow; she is now working on her fourth novel The Henna Painter. Several of her prize-winning short stories are published in the UK and abroad. Her work is being studied in schools and Universities. A critical analysis of her works has been done in a book entitled The Holy and the Unholy: Critical Essays on Qaisra Shahraz’s Fiction (2011. Qaisra Shahraz has another successful career in education, as a consultant, teacher trainer and inspector.