Irish
Adiba Jaigirdar is a Bangladeshi-Irish author of young adult fiction. Born in Bangladesh, she moved to Ireland as a child and later studied and worked in Dublin. Her novels centre queer girls of South Asian background and the pressures of family, faith, race and friendship in their lives. Her debut, The Henna Wars, was published in 2020 and follows two girls whose rival henna businesses turn into romance. Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating followed in 2021 and won the YA Book Prize in 2022. She has since written more novels, including A Million to One, and co-edited the anthology Rebel Girls and similar projects. Jaigirdar also writes about representation in publishing and has spoken about the need for more Muslim and South Asian queer characters in teen books. Her work is known for warm, accessible stories that treat identity as part of everyday life.