Looking for some fresh new reads for the vacations? Here are some women writers and their award winning contemporary Indian books in English.
These women writers are carving their way into Indian fiction in English. Readers looking for quality literary fiction in India should check out their work. Quality writing – be it poetry, fiction or non-fiction.
Anjum Hasan is from Shillong, living in Bangalore.
Her prose has been featured in GRANTA’s India Issue. She is the author of the novels The Cosmopolitans (Hamish Hamilton, 2015) Neti, Neti (India Ink/Roli, 2009) and Lunatic in my Head (Penguin Zubaan, 2007), the short fiction collection Difficult Pleasures (Penguin Viking, 2012), and the book of poems Street on the Hill (Sahitya Akademi, 2006). Each book has been nominated for one award or another like the Man Asian Literary Prize, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature etc.
My take: Her work will resonate with the youth. Especially women who go to metropolitan cities for work/study.
Jahnavi Barua is from Assam, living in Bangalore.
She has written a short story collection– Next Door (Penguin India, 2008) and a novel- Rebirth (Penguin India, 2010) which was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize.
My take: Her style is unique. Her novel Rebirth is a glimpse into an Assamese woman’s psyche who lives in Bangalore. Women who enjoy powerful female voices should read her.
Sharanya Manivannan is from Chennai.
She has written a short story collection- The High Priestess Never Marries (Harper Collins India, 2016). It was shortlisted for the Tata Lit Live award 2016.
My take: She redefines feminism in the Indian context. She challenges the way we look at storytelling- Her stories don’t follow the traditional pattern of having a beginning, middle and end.
Janice Pariat was born in Assam and raised in Shillong.
Boats on Land: A Collection of Short Stories (Random House, India) won the Sahitya Akademi Young Writer Award 2013 and the Crossword Book Award for Fiction. Her novel Seahorse was shortlisted for The Hindu Prize for Literature 2015.
My take: Her stories remind you of oral narration, telling vs. showing as opposed to the cliché advice- show don’t tell.
Janhavi Acharekar is a writer in Mumbai.
She is the author of Wanderers, All (2015), a novel. Window Seat, a short story collection and a travel guide Moon Mumbai and Goa (2009).
My take: Her stories will make you think. They will stay with you long after you are done with it.
Tejaswini Apte-Rahm is a writer from Mumbai.
Her short story collection These Circuses That Sweep Through the Landscape (Aleph, December 2016) has already been receiving great reviews.
My take: I decided to buy her collection after reading her short story ‘Sandalwood’ in the fiction special of BL ink. A brilliant piece. You can read excerpts of her book on her website.
Lavanya Shanbhogue-Arvind is based in Mumbai.
She is the author of the novel Heavens We Chase (Roli Books, 2016) which has already received great reviews.
My take: I decided to buy her collection after reading an excerpt of the book on Scroll. There is raw honesty in her prose.
Rheea Mukherjee is based in Bangalore.
She has authored the short story collection Transit for Beginners (Kitaab Singapore, 2016) which has been noticed for its insightful urban storytelling. She was a Top 25 Finalist in Glimmer Train‘s Very Short Fiction Award.
My take: Her protagonists are real, middle class, Indian, urban, female and much more.
Deepti Kapoor is from Delhi.
She wrote A Bad Character (Knopf, 2014) which was shortlisted for The Hindu Prize 2014 in India and for the 2015 Prix Médicis in France. It is also translated into French.
My take: For unreserved storytelling from a woman’s point of view challenging the status quo.
Sumana Roy writes from Siliguri.
She has been published in GRANTA and many other magazines. She writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction which can be found online. Her first book, How I Became a Tree is due from Aleph this year.
My take: Her book is something literary readers should look forward to. You can read the excerpt on Mint.
Become a premium user on Women’s Web and get access to exclusive content for women, plus useful Women’s Web events and resources in your city.
Image source: pexels
Michelle D’costa is an Indian born(1991) and raised in Bahrain. Her prose and poetry can be found in The Madras Mag, The Bombay Literary Magazine, Open Road Review among others. She edits fiction read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, indivisual posts do not necessarily represent the platofrom's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Falling in love, marriage, a hidden secret, divorce. Despite all this, Vinita noticed her life was full of love that came in various unexpected shades!
“Aap jinke kareeb hotey hain, woh badey kush naseeb hotey hain…”
Just as Vinita was settling down into the cab seat, the driver put on music and the song started to play. It took her back immediately to that evening ten years ago, when Gautam had sung that very same song to her on the first evening they had met. She could remember every single detail of that evening so very clearly.
The driver obliged and immediately stopped the bus for them. Many men got down. They shamelessly lined up just by the side of the bus and peed on the other side of the road.
I work in Pune. My family lives far away from me in a small town along the coast of Konkan. I get to meet them once every fortnight for which I have to take a nine-hour long overnight bus journey.
These 15 leading women in publishing have reinvented the Indian industry and made a mark for themselves on the way. A quick look at some of the leading names you should know!
Decades ago, the global publishing space was dominated entirely by men. Not any more though. Today women occupy plum roles in Indian publishing houses, calling the shots, making critical decisions and indeed, taking the whole publishing industry by storm by being at the forefront of innovation. Here are 15 spirited women in publishing who are at the helm of the country’s biggest publishing houses or have started their own publishing ventures.
New to the sci-fi genre or looking for more reccos? Here are 12 women science fiction authors I really believe you should give a read.
Mary Shelley was an English novelist, essayist, dramatist, biographer, scientific fantasy and travel writer. She is best known for her outstanding work- ‘Frankenstein‘. ‘Frankenstein’ was first published in 1818 and is considered to be the first science fiction novel. Her Frankenstein is a perfect blend of science and fantasy.