Mishi Saran is a writer and journalist. She has an undergraduate degree in Chinese Studies from Wellesley College (USA), and her articles have appeared in a variety of international publications, including the Los Angeles Review of Books, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune and the Asian Wall Street Journal. Her first book, Chasing the Monk's Shadow: A Journey in the Footsteps of Xuanzang, was shortlisted for the 2006 Hutch-Crossword Award for Literary Non-Fiction, and longlisted for the 2006 Lettres Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage. Her first novel, The Other Side of Light, was shortlisted for the 2013 Commonwealth Book Prize. Her short stories have won awards and been broadcast on the BBC.

Saran was born in India, and after spending the first ten years in New Delhi, she has lived in Switzerland, Indonesia, the United States, China, Hong Kong and Korea. She lives in Hong Kong, where she is working on her third book.