Alka Joshi is the internationally bestselling author of the Jaipur Trilogy: The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur and The Perfumist of Paris. Her debut novel, The Henna Artist, immediately became a New York Times Bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick, an LA Times Bestseller, a Toronto Star Bestseller, an Indie Bookstores Bestseller, a Cosmopolitan Best Audiobook, and an Amazon and Goodreads favorite. It was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and has been translated into 29 languages. It’s currently in development as an episodic series.
In 2023, Forbes selected Alka as one of 50 Women Over 50 who are shattering age and gender norms. Alka was born in India and came to the U.S. with her family at the age of nine.
She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. Her fourth novel, Six Days in Bombay (4/15/25), is a sweeping travelogue of a young Indian woman’s journey from 1937 India to a turbulent Europe as she comes into her own. It’s Alka’s first standalone novel and will be followed by a fifth in 2026.
Alka has spoken to over 900 book clubs, literary festivals, colleges and corporations about her writing journey.