M.J. Soni/ Manju Soni (she/her) is a former eye surgeon turned author. She was born and grew up under apartheid in South Africa where she was introduced to social justice issues at a young age during the Soweto Uprising student protests. Her debut nonfiction book Defying Apartheid captures her experiences during these tumultuous times. Since then she has turned her scalpel to writing mystery and suspense books.

Her short fiction and nonfiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Akashic Books, Apeiron Review and The Establishment. She’s the recipient of the Leon B. Burnstein/MWA-NY Scholarship, and 2020 runner up to the Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Award. She was a 2019 Pitch Wars mentee, and a 2020 Pitch Wars mentor. Manju is also a member of Crime Writers of Color and Sisters in Crime National and CT.