To download author photos and cover art, please click here.                 

Neesha was born in Punjab, India, where she lived until she was almost five. For the next twenty years, she was in Toronto, Canada until she moved to the US. She spent her childhood escaping into novels by authors like Judy Blume, Lois Duncan, S.E. Hinton and Paula Danziger. Her biggest wish was to project herself into these novels.

As a teenager, Neesha began writing her own stories. In the next decade or so, her writing would appear in anthologies, journals, the Village Voice, and various online magazines.

Neesha holds a BA in Film and Media Arts from Ryerson University in Toronto, and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School For Social Research in New York City.

Her independent films have screened at international film festivals, she has taught literature and creative writing courses to undergraduate freshmen in New York, served as a board member for many arts and cultural organizations, and counseled women and youth in crisis.

SHINE, COCONUT MOON, her first novel, is a Smithsonian Notable Book; it was selected as one of the top 100 books of 2009 by the New York Public Library's 'Stuff for the Teen Age'; and was a Best Book for Young Adults nomination by the American Library Association.

Neesha lives in New York City with her husband and their two children.