Anjana Appachana was born in India of Coorg (Karnataka) origin and educated at Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Pennsylvania State University. Her first book Incantations and Other Stories was published in England by Virago in 1991 and in the US by Rutgers University Press in 1992. The book was reissued in India by Penguin in 2006. She lives in Tempe, Arizona, and has a young daughter.