RUKHSANA KHAN was born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1962. She moved with her family first to Britain and then, about a year later at age three, to Dundas, Ontario.

Khan began by writing for community magazines and went on to write songs and stories for the Adam's World children's videos.

She has written three picture books, Bedtime Ba-a-a-lk, about some unruly sheep, The Roses in My Carpets, which is set in an Afghani refugee camp and told from the perspective of a young boy, a character inspired from a child she sponsors, and King of the Skies,about a disabled boy who has one day in the year when he rules-the day of Basnut, the Indian Kite festival.

Khan's book for young adults, Dahling If You Luv Me Would You Please Please Smile, was shortlisted for the Ruth Schwartz Award, the Red Maple Award and won the Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Honour Award (she tied for second with Margaret Buffie). She has also written a collection of short stories and poems, Muslim Child, designed to teach the basic tenets of the Islamic faith.

In addition to her writing, Khan is a storyteller: she considers it a challenge to hold her audiences of children and teenagers spellbound, hanging on every word. The stories are from the Middle East and Persia, as well as from Islamic history and her own tales. She has also developed Universality in Folktales, a program which involves students bringing folktales or personal stories from their own cultures and sharing them with other students.

Khan is a member of The Writers' Union of Canada, CANSCAIP, Storytellers of Canada, and the Storytelling School of Toronto. She lives in Toronto with her husband and four children.

Please visit Rukhsana's own web site at www.rukhsanakhan.com