Biography
Nikita Lalwani is a novelist and screenwriter. Born in Kota, Rajasthan, she was raised in Cardiff and studied English at the University of Bristol. She began her career directing factual television and documentaries at the BBC before turning to fiction.
Her debut novel Gifted (2007) was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Costa Book Award for First Novel and won the inaugural Desmond Elliott Prize. Subsequent novels include The Village (2012) and You People (2020). She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018.
Lalwani has written episodes of the BBC/Amazon series The Outlaws (2021–2024), including co-writing credits with Stephen Merchant, and the screenplay for the film Picture This (2025). She also wrote an episode of the forthcoming Sky series Under Salt Marsh.
