12 x 12 Contributor

Darshana Khiani is an Indian American who grew up in rural Pennsylvania during the 70s & 80s. She now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and a furry pooch. She is an author, engineer, and a South Asian Kidlit Blogger. Her picture book debut HOW TO WEAR A SARI released in June 2021 and was an Amazon Editor’s Pick and a Crystal Kite finalist. Darshana has been with 12×12 since its inception. She can’t imagine learning the craft of picture books without the 12×12 community. Now she only wishes there were something similar to help her get started and stay focused on novel writing. The journey to publication was a long one but what kept her going through the ups and downs was the Kidlit community — 12×12, her local SCBWI group, her critique group, librarians, and more. Many people have helped her along the way. Darshana is humbled that she can now help others by being a Critique Ninja. Don’t tell anyone but being a Critique Ninja is helping Darshana too. Craft nuggets she picked up from classes, conferences, and critique partners sometimes don’t sink in for her until she dispenses that advice to someone else. Darshana is looking forward to helping her fellow 12×12 members on their own writing journey.