Avni Doshi is a writer. Her first novel, Burnt Sugar, was originally released in India under the title Girl in White Cotton, where it won the 2021 Sushila Devi Award and was longlisted for the 2019 Tata First Novel Prize. Upon publication in the UK, Burnt Sugar was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. Named a 2020 Book of the Year by the Guardian, Economist, Spectator and NPR, it is being published in 26 languages. In 2021, it was longlisted for the Women’s Prize and selected as one of The New York Times Book Review’s 100 Notable Books of the year. In 2022, it was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. She was awarded the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize in 2013 and a Charles Pick Fellowship in 2014. Her writing has appeared in British Vogue, Granta and The Sunday Times. Her second novel, The First House, will be published in 2026.

Avni has a BA in art history from Barnard College in New York and a Masters in history of art from University College London. Before writing fiction, she worked as an art writer and curator, contributing to artist monographs and magazines, including Frieze, Art Asia Pacific and Art India.