Writing Srivastava wrote her first novel,
Transmission, in 1992. The semi-autobiographical story follows a young Anglo-Indian woman named Angie, who, much like Srivastava, works as a film producer. The book focuses on the relationships that Angie has with her parents, an old-fashioned and authoritarian Indian couple, and with Lol and Kathi, an
HIV-positive couple about whom she wants to make a documentary and with whom she has a romantic affair. The title comes from the book's examination of several forms of transmission, the transmission of Indian culture and lifestyle into modern London and of sexually transmitted diseases. In 2000 Srivastava published her second book,
Looking for Maya. The plot tells of another young Anglo-Indian woman, Mira, who works as an author in London. Mira is forced to overcome issues of identity, love, tradition, and modernity as she attempts to find meaning while switching from one romantic entanglement to another. Srivastava also written several short stories which have been published in anthologies such as
New Writing 2001,
Well-Sorted, and
Tran-Lit. Her third novel
It Takes a Girl (1st in the series KILLER WOMEN) is available on Amazon in
Paperback and Kindle, published February 14, 2023 "When a gangster is found floating in the Brook in a peaceful Asian neighbourhood in North London, the scandalous secrets of a family are set to explode. Shaani at 19 is faced with a situation that threatens to destroy everything: her brother’s glittering future, her mother’s mental health and the family’s spotless reputation. In her attempt to right the wrongs, she takes the biggest risk of her life. Will it pay off?" The lightness of touch in Srivastava’s writing style is in stark contrast to the tense and terrifying roller coaster of the story – making It Takes a Girl a stylish psychological noir thriller. Her fourth novel
Dark Waters (2nd in the series KILLER WOMEN) is available Amazon, in Paperback and Kindle, published June 8, 2023 "Kavya Sharma has it all. Unearned privilege and long legs, a good family, a beach house and a loving husband but she also has a chronic drink problem and resents being told off about it. Determined to take control of her situation, she spirals into a shapeless world inhabited by those who have murder in mind." Her fifth novel
The Crime She Didnt Commit(3rd in the series KILLER WOMEN) is available on Amazon, in Paperback and Kindle, published April 15, 2024 "Shivani Srivastava has designs on the eminent Dr Shree. She doesn’t realise that, though separated from his wife, he is still married. So, when the glamorous
Mala Sinha returns and starts getting in the way of her plans, Shivani accidentally runs her over in a pique of jealous rage. At first panicked, Shivani's horror soon turns to high spirits as she realises it’s easy to get away with it. All she has to do is control the narrative. One by one, she tells them each a different lie and keeps all the plates spinning." Her sixth novel (4th in the series KILLER WOMEN) is "A Fatal Friendship" available on Amazon, in Paperback and Kindle, published July 11, 2025 "Marina the wild spirited artist and Renu the quiet lonely housewife are the best of friends, but when Marina falls violently in love with a younger man and determines to do the worst thing Renu can imagine, their friendship is severely tested. Renu devises what she thinks will be a fool proof plan to protect her friend, but when the amateur sleuth Pallavi enters the scene and begins a cock-eyed investigation, things start to fall apart. It's enough to drive a woman to murder…" A riveting tale of love and loyalty, and a femme fatale with a deadly secret.
Film and theatre From 1985 - 1999 Srivastava worked as a film editor and director for shows including A Week in Politics, Dispatches and London Zoo Story. In 1993 she worked on several series of
Moving Pictures which is a journalism series reporting on global cinema. She also has written three TV-movie screenplays,
Dancing in the Dark and
The Legendary Vindaloo for Channel 4, and
Camden Story for the BBC. In addition, the
National Theatre Company commissioned her to write a play titled
Why Not Love? which premiered in 2001. ==Awards==