Born July 29, 1956, in Calcutta, India; immigrated to the United States in 1976; daughter of R.K. and Tatini Banerjee; married S. Murthy Divakaruni, June 29, 1979; children: Abhay, Anand (sons). Education: Calcutta University, B.A., 1976; Wright State University, M.A., 1978; University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D., 1985. Memberships: Mid-Peninsula Support Network for Battered Women, 1990--; MAITRI (help line for South Asian women), president, board member, 1991--; Daya, Houston, TX, advisory board member; Pratham, board member. Addresses: Home: Houston, TX.

EDITOR

• Multitude: Cross-cultural Readings for Writers, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1993.
• We, Too, Sing America, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1998.

• Dark like the River, Writers Workshop (Calcutta, India), 1987.
• The Reason for Nasturtiums, Berkeley Poets Press (Berkeley, CA), 1990.
• Black Candle: Poems about Women from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, Calyx Books (Corvallis, OR), 1991.
• Leaving Yuba City: New and Selected Poems, Anchor Books (New York, NY), 1997.

• Arranged Marriage: Stories, Anchor Books (New York, NY), 1995.
• The Unknown Errors of Our Lives: Stories, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2001.
• California Uncovered: Stories for the 21st Century, Heyday Books (Berkeley, CA), 2005.

• The Mistress of Spices, Anchor Books (New York, NY), 1997.
• Sister of My Heart, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1999.
• The Vine of Desire: A Novel, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2002.
• Neela, Victory Song (young adult), illustrated by Troy Howell, American Girl (Middleton, WI), 2002.
• The Conch Bearer: A Novel (young adult), Roaring Brook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2003.
• Queen of Dreams: A Novel, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2004.
• The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming: The Brotherhood of the Conch: Book II, Roaring Brook Press (New Milford, CT), 2005.
• The Palace of Illusions: A Novel, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2008.

Contributor to more than fifty periodicals, including Ms., Beloit Poetry Journal, Chicago Review, Zyzzyva, and Chelsea.