Sita Seecharrun Harris

Sita Harris wrote her first award winning short story at the age of fifteen, for Radio France Internationale, which was broadcast on air by more than 24 languages in the Francophone countries, with an audience of 77 millions; winning her first international literary award. Born in Port Louis, Mauritius, she grew up in the capital, imbibing its tropical cosmopolitan vibe. She graduated in Applied Arts, with a Masters in HCI, an MPhil & PhD in New Media And an MBA in management & Marketing. She worked as an Artistic/Creative Director in New Media & Advertising, and taught Media & Communication at tertiary level. Despite being a polyglot she mainly writes in English and French. When she is not traveling for work in humanitarian aid and international development for international organisations as communication and strategy expert for the UN agencies of UNICEF, UNESCO, UNDP, UNHCR, UNEP and the World Bank; she illustrates, designs and paints regularly, exhibiting her works across the globe. She fosters orphaned baby elephants who live in Tsavo, Kenya, and other animals such as Kiko the giraffe and Max the blind black Rhino. She also has befriended a wild red fox she feeds each day, which brings out his kit to feed each day, making a group of seven or nine daily. You can often catch her dreaming of a place where peace prevails at all levels, animals are free and happy. She takes inspirations from everyday life she sees around her, human pathos, and formidable memories she holds on to. With several academic and corporate publications, learning materials and new curriculum innovations she brings to the world of education across the globe, she is very at ease with several children books she has produced. 'When the Stars Shine' is her first novel, and is inspired by evocative memories of her childhood spent on her native island with her mother. ‘Taming of a Brew’ her second novel is based upon the colonial past of her native island where a new breed of multicultural human pathos has been rigged through centuries of passive silent. Based against the backdrop of tea cultivation in Mauritius which is a lesser known crop, her narration again brings historical fiction with facts. ‘The Curse of Bêti’ completes the trilogy having as backdrop colonial and post colonial history of Mauritius and indentured workers from India with sugar as the main crop. She challenges cultural and generational differences and identities of the island’s colonialism amidst a new style of blending facts and fiction. ‘The Lost World of Mû’ is her fourth novel. Through a murder thriller it delves into themes like evolution, adaptation, and the intricate relationship between humans and the natural world. Her anthology of 24 stories from island nations of the Indian Ocean are compiled in two volumes under ‘Folk Stories of the Indian Ocean’ which she has also illustrated and turned them into video Podcast on YouTube under her channel ‘My Island Muse’. She regularly writes on diplomacy, Art and strategies as well as is a trained Indologist and Art Historian/Critic. She lives with her husband and is based in Bristol, U.K.