About
I caught the writing bug at age five and distributed hand-written autographed copies of my books to classmates in India, where I grew up. After a master's degree in finance from Columbia University, I spent fourteen years as an investment banker before realizing my childhood dream of being an author.
I enjoy writing with a deep curiosity about how place, family, and cultural identity shape a child’s inner world. My projects range from humorous to deeply emotional themes, sometimes drawing inspiration from my Bengali roots, which I'm passionate about seeing more fully represented in children’s literature.
I’m a graduate of UCLA's Novel Writing program, Gotham's Writer's Workshop, Writing Mastery Academy; winner of the 2024 Word Editor Mentorship and the 2026 Erin Entrada Kelly Scholarship by Boyds Mills. When I'm not writing, you can find me reimagining where people discover books through my company, Got Books?
More about me...
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The R.C. in my name stands for Rajeshwari Chakravarty, and Chizhov is my husband's last name.
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I went to seven different schools growing up, so I was always the new girl in class!
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In my past life, I've been a Bollywood dance instructor and McDonalds teen model
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In my present life, I'm a taekwondo enthusiast, soccer mom and K-drama fan.
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My fictional crush will forever be Mr. Darcy.
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I'm a cancer survivor and support the American Cancer Society, Moffitt Cancer Center and Sloan Memorial Kettering.