Sharika Chauhan

Sharika Chauhan is a British-Indian children's author and founder of Maya's Worldly Wonders® — a multicultural travel adventure series for curious minds aged 5 to 11.

Before writing, Sharika spent 17 years in financial services as a COO and fintech co-founder. A solo traveller across 45+ countries, she draws on her own real expeditions to bring each of Maya's adventures to life.

Since launching, the series has reached 2,000+ children through school visits and events across the UK, been featured on BBC radio stations and programmes across the UK, and published in Teach Primary magazine reaching 8,000 UK primary schools.

Maya's Worldly Wonders® is a 2026 UK Start-Up Awards finalist.

Sharika speaks on career pivots, South Asian representation in children's media, and building creative IP from scratch.