Meera Syal MBE: Actress, Comedienne, Novelist and Playwright
Meera grew up in the tiny mining village of Essington, in the industrial heartland of the Black Country, the childhood memories of which inspired her novel Anita & Me.  Achieving a first in English and Drama at Manchester University, she has subsequently received several major awards including a British Comedy Award, an RTS Award (both for Goodness Gracious Me), a BAFTA (for the short film It’s Not Unusual), and an MBE for her services to the arts in a career that spans acting, comedy, novel and screenwriting and journalism. 

Favourite Books:  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Attwood, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and Depression by Dorothy Rowe.