Arefa Tehsin was shortlisted for The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Best Author Award 2017 for her book Wild in the Backyard.  Her picture book The Elephant Bird was read at 3200+ locations in India, from the slums to the Presidential library on the International Literacy Day, 2016 and translated in 25 languages by communities. She is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books on wildlife. She was appointed as the Honorary Wildlife Warden of Udaipur and has relentlessly pursued nature conservation through her writings and columns. Arefa is also an avid traveller and contributes travel pieces for various publications.