Early life and education

Sathnam Sanghera was born to Punjabi parents in Wolverhampton in 1976.
His parents had emigrated to the UK in 1968. He was raised as a Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

. At the age of ten he worked part-time in a sewing factory. He attended Wolverhampton Grammar School

Wolverhampton Grammar School

Wolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational independent school located in the city of Wolverhampton.Initially Wolverhampton Boys Grammar School, it was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who was also Lord Mayor of London in the year of...

 and graduated from Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...

 with a first class degree in English Language and Literature in 1998.

Career

Before becoming a writer Sathnam worked at a burger chain, a hospital laundry, a market research firm, a sewing factory and a literacy project in New York. As a student he worked at the Express and Star in Wolverhampton and dressed up as a "news bunny" for L!VE TV

L!VE TV

L!VE TV was a British television station that was operated by MGN on cable television from 15 August 1995 - 31 October 1999. It was later revived for Sky Digital from 2003...

.
Between 1998 and 2006 he was a reporter and feature writer for the Financial Times

Financial Times

The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

.

He joined The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

 as a columnist and feature writer in 2007.
He also writes for Management Today magazine.

Publications

• "The Boy With The Topknot: A Memoir of Love, Secrets and Lies in Wolverhampton". Published by Penguin, 2008.

Awards

• Young Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards, 2002.
• Article of the Year in the 2005 Management Today Writing Awards.
• Newspaper Feature of the Year, Workworld Media Awards.
• Journalist of the Year, Watson Wyatt Awards, 2006 and 2009.
• Shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award, 2009
• Shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley Prize, 2009. .
• Winner, Mind Book of the Year, 2009.
• Honorary Doctor of Letters for services to journalism, University of Wolverhampton
  University of Wolverhampton
  The University of Wolverhampton is a British university located on four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire. The city campus is located in Wolverhampton city centre with a second campus at Compton Park, Wolverhampton; a third in Walsall and a fourth in Telford...
  
  , September 2009.
• President’s Medal, Royal College of Psychiatrists
  Royal College of Psychiatrists
  The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom responsible for representing psychiatrists, psychiatric research and providing public information about mental health problems...
  
  , 2010.