Mahnaz Malik developed her passion for writing through the influence of her father, Dr. Arshad Malik, leading her to write numerous stories and books in her youth. At age 15, in 1992, her story "Strangers in the Same World" won the SAARC Gold Medal for Essay Writing. The following year, she published her first book, a collection of short stories titled "Hopes, Dreams & Realities." Her second book, "Defiance," published by South Asia Publications in 1994, earned praise from renowned Indian author Khushwant Singh and then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto.

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During her studies at the University of Cambridge, Malik's short story "A Night in a Backyard" won the Progression Arts Magazine Writing Competition, judged by Seamus Heaney and organised in collaboration with the Arts Council of England (1998). The BBC World Service Short Story Series featured her work "An Introduction." Her later success included "Mo's Star," published by Oxford University Press. The book was translated into Arabic by Fatima Sharafeddine under the title "Najmet Mariam" (published by Kalimat Publishing in the UAE) and into Urdu by noted writer and poet Fahmida Riaz as "Mo Ka Tara" (published by Oxford University Press in 2006). Oxford University Press also published Malik's second children's book, "Min Chin's Tree Home."

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"Mo's Star" garnered widespread acclaim from notable figures, including Bollywood award-winning actress Vidya Balan, Hollywood director Michael Radford, actor Joseph Fiennes, and HRH Prince Charles. In 2000, Malik co-wrote and co-directed "Omar and the Glass Splinter" with Jonty Claypole under Jinns Productions Limited. That year, the film premiered in the children's category at London's Raindance Film Festival.