image of person or book cover 3278110706907320982.png
Image Courtesy of Shankari Chandran Website
Shankari Chandran Shankari Chandran i(13835624 works by)
Born: Established: 1974 London,
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England,
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United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe, Europe, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Tamil
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BiographyHistory

Born in 1974 in London, Shankari Chandran is a Tamil Australian author and lawyer. Raised in Canberra, Chandran studied Law at the University of New South Wales before moving to London. Chandran spent a decade in London, working as a lawyer in social justice, before returning to Australia. As a lawyer in the social justice field, Chandran has worked on national and international program design and delivery and continues to work with an Australian national retailer on social impact. As a full-time writer, Shankari lives and writes in Sydney with her husband and four children.

Song of the Sun God (2017), Chandran’s first novel, is a historical fiction that explores the Sri Lankan Civil Wars across four generations. A story of race, migration, war and family, Song of the Sun God was longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2019. 

Shankari’s next novel, The Barrier(2017), is a literary thriller that explores ideas of human history, war and contagion. Published by Pan Macmillan in 2017, The Barrier was a finalist in the Norma K. Hemming Award for Science Fiction. The award is given for a work which ‘marks excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, sexuality, class and disability'.

Receiving national and international acclaim, Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens (2022) catapulted Chandran to new levels of success. Set in Sydney’s Outer Western Suburbs, Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens addresses multicultural Australia and questions of race, structural inequality, and trauma. Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens won the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2023. It was also highly commended in the Barbara Jefferis Award. 

Safe Haven (2024) continues to explore questions of Australia’s past and future, a story of displacement and refuge set against the backdrop of Australia’s changing immigration laws. Safe Haven was longlisted for the 2025 Indie Award for Fiction. Chandran returns to the thriller genre with Unfinished Business (2024), a crime novel set in post-war Sri Lanka.

Her short stories have also been published in the anthologies, Another Australia and Sweatshop Women (Vol 2). Chandran also serves as the Deputy Chair for Writing New South Wales. 

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Safe Haven Ultimo : Ultimo Press , 2024 27285031 2024 single work novel

'It was a beautiful evening. The wind gathered speed, lifting the frangipanis from the grove behind him, pink and yellow petals defying gravity. Beyond the trees, hidden by the foliage and rows of towering palm trees, the detention centre slept fitfully in the heavy summer heat. The palms blocked the ocean gust that now swirled around him, filling his lungs with the taste of temple flowers and salt. It reminded him of home. He took a deep breath, stepped off the escarpment and felt the red sand rush up towards him.

'Arriving in Australia seeking asylum, Fina dedicates herself to aiding the refugees who are held in Port Camden, a remote island outpost. Over time she settles into a life within a community of like-minded people, finding a new family, far from her original home. After she speaks out for those being detained, Fina becomes the focus of a media storm that leads to her arrest, and the threat of deportation.

'When a security officer dies under suspicious circumstances, Lucky, a special investigator, arrives to uncover the truth. The mystery is tied to Fina’s fate—and the secrets she reveals will divide the town and the nation.

'Safe Haven is about displacement and seeking refuge—but ultimately it is a story about finding home—and the lengths you’ll go to find safety and love.'  (Publication summary)
2025 longlisted Indie Awards — Fiction
y separately published work icon Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens Ultimo : Ultimo Press , 2022 21620884 2022 single work novel

'Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home is nestled in the quiet suburb of Westgrove, Sydney – populated with residents with colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings. This is their safe place, an oasis of familiar delights – a beautiful garden, a busy kitchen and a bountiful recreation schedule.

'But this ordinary neighbourhood is not without its prejudices. The serenity of Cinnamon Gardens is threatened by malignant forces more interested in what makes this refuge different rather than embracing the calm companionship that makes this place home to so many. As those who challenge the residents’ existence make their stand against the nursing home with devastating consequences, our characters are forced to reckon with a country divided.

'Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens is about family and memory, community and race, but is ultimately a love letter to story-telling and the relationships we form through the stories we tell.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
2024 highly commended Barbara Jefferis Award
2023 winner Miles Franklin Literary Award
2023 longlisted APA Book Design Awards — Best Designed Commercial Fiction Cover designed by Jessica Cruickshank.
y separately published work icon The Barrier Sydney : Pan Macmillan Australia , 2017 13838026 2017 single work novel science fiction

'Twenty years ago an Ebola epidemic brought the world to the edge of oblivion.

'The West won the war, the East was isolated behind a wall, and a vaccine against Ebola was developed. Peace prevailed.

'Now Agent Noah Williams is being sent over the barrier to investigate a rogue scientist who risks releasing another plague. But why would a once-respected academic threaten the enforced vaccination program that ensures humans are no longer an endangered species?

'Hunting for answers amid shootouts, espionage and murder, Noah will have to confront a fundamental question:

'In the fight for survival, can our humanity survive too?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
2018 finalist Norma K. Hemming Award — Long Work
VIEW ALL AWARDS
Last amended 18 Feb 2025 09:59:34
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