Meet the author

Aisha Bushby.

Writer · United Kingdom

Aisha Bushby: author of A Pocketful of Stars, weaving quiet magic through tender, honest stories of grief, family and finding yourself for readers of nine and up.

Aisha Bushby is a British children's author who was born in Bahrain to Kuwaiti-Canadian parents and has lived in Kuwait, Canada and England, where she now writes. Her assured debut, A Pocketful of Stars, follows Safiya, who has never quite seen eye to eye with her mother; when her mum falls into a coma, Safiya begins to slip into vivid dreams of her mother's own childhood in Kuwait, and comes to understand their complicated bond. Weaving gentle magic through a very real story of grief, family and self-discovery, it was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award. Bushby writes with warmth and honesty about feelings that are hard to name, making her a thoughtful choice for readers of nine and up navigating friendship, identity and family change.