ABHINAV CHANDRACHUD

Abhinav Chandrachud practises as an advocate at the Bombay High Court. He graduated from the LLM programme at Harvard Law School where he was a Dana Scholar, and from the JSM and JSD programmes at Stanford Law School where he was a Franklin Family Scholar. He has worked as an associate attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a global law firm, and as a paralegal at AZB & Partners, a leading law firm in India. His books include Supreme Whispers and Republic of Rhetoric: Free Speech and the Constitution of India.

ANAND NEELAKANTAN

Anand Neelakantan is an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter, cartoonist, television personality and motivational speaker. He has authored five fiction books in English and one in Malayalam. His The Rise of Sivagami, continues to be the no. 1 bestseller across charts. He is also the author of Asura: Tale of the Vanquished, narrating Ramayana from Ravan's point of view. His books have been translated into more than nine languages. S.S. Rajamouli has announced a mini-series based on Neelakantan's books, on the lines of Game of Thrones. Neelakantan has also written scripts/screenplays for popular TV series like Siya Ke Ram, Ashoka, Mahabali Hanuman.

ANIK DUTTA

Anik Dutta is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, and lyricist who works chiefly in the Bengali film industry. He is best known for writing and directing critically acclaimed films like Bhooter Bhabishyat (2012) and Ascharya Pradeep (2013), for which he also penned the lyrics. Other significant directorial credits include the 2017 thriller film Meghnad Badh Rahasya. His 2019 releases include Bhobishyoter Bhoot. His upcoming film ‘Borunbabur Bondhu’ will release in 2020.

ANITA AGNIHOTRI

Anita Agnihotri is a Bengali writer and civil servant. She commenced her writing career at an early age, contributing to the children's magazine Sandesh. Her works include Forest Interludes, The Awakening, Seventeen, Those Who Have Known Love, many of which have been translated into German, English and in Swedish as well.

ANITA HEISS

Anita Heiss is one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors publishing across genres including non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial fiction, and children’s novels. Her memoir Am I Black Enough for You? was a finalist in the 2012 Human Rights Awards and she was a finalist in the 2013 Australian of the Year Awards. A member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales, she is a Lifetime Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, and a proud Ambassador of Worawa Aboriginal College, the GO Foundation and the Sydney Swans.

ANJANA BASU

Anjana Basu is a fiction writer and poet. She has also written stories for local newspapers and Cosmopolitan. Her work has been published by Orient Longman India, Penguin India, The Wolfhead Quarterly, The Blue Moon Review, Recursive Angel etc. Her novel Curses in Ivory was published by Harper Collins in 2003. She has been awarded the Hawthornden Fellow. She also writes for young adults; one of her notable work is Leopard in the Laboratory. Her recent novel for young adults is Eighteen Tides & a Tiger which was on the Hindu Goodbooks Young Worlds Award Shortlist. She has also worked on scripts with director Rituparno Ghosh for ‘Antarmahal’ and ‘The Last Lear’ and has subtitled several of his films including ‘Unishe April’, ‘Dahan’ and ‘Chokher Bali’.

ANJUM KATYAL

Anjum Katyal is the Consultant Director of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival. She was, previously, the Chief Editor of Seagull Books, Calcutta and Editor of Seagull Theatre Quarterly. She is the author of Habib Tanvir: Towards an Inclusive Theatre (SAGE, 2012). She has translated Habib Tanvir’s Charandas Chor and Hirma ki Amar Kahani, as she has Usha Ganguli’s Rudali and stories by Mahasweta Devi and Meera Mukherjee. Her book Badal Sircar: Towards a Theatre of Conscience was released at the 2016 festival inaugural event. She has a background in education and teacher training. A published poet, she also sings the blues, and writes on theatre and the visual arts.

ANTARA DEV SEN

Antara Dev Sen is founder editor of The Little Magazine, the independent journal of ideas and letters. Sen is also a literary critic and translator, a newspaper columnist and commentator on the media, society, politics, culture and development. She has edited several books including the TLM Short Stories from South Asia series. Earlier, Sen has been Senior Editor of The Hindustan Times and of The Indian Express in Delhi. She was a Reuter Fellow at Oxford University. Sen is also Managing Trustee of Pratichi, a trust working on education and health, and is advisor to some media, literary, educational and voluntary organisations in India and overseas.

ANURADHA BHAGWATI

Anuradha Bhagwati is a writer, activist, yoga and meditation teacher, and Marine Corps veteran. She founded the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), which brought national attention to sexual violence in the military and helped repeal the ban on women in combat. Anuradha is a regular media commentator on issues related to national security, women’s rights, civil rights, and mental health. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, Foreign Affairs, and New Republic. Anuradha is the recipient of numerous awards and lives in New York City with her service dog Duke. Her memoir Unbecoming: A Memoir of Disobedience was published in 2019.

APARNA SEN

Aparna Sen is a Bengali director, screenwriter and actress. She is a renowned name in Bengali as well as in Indian cinema. She has excelled both as an actor in film and theatre and as a director of parallel cinema. Her first film appearance was in Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya (1961). Since then, Aparna has acted in lead roles in many films. Aparna made her debut as a film director with 36 Chowringhee lane (1981) which won national and international awards. Since then, she has directed films on a wide variety of subjects. Aparna Sen has won three National Film Awards and nine international film festival awards for her outstanding work as a filmmaker. She was awarded Padma Shri award by the government of India in 1987. She was also the editor of the popular Bengali magazine Sananda for several years.

ARTHY MUTHANNA SINGH

Arthy Muthanna Singh is a children’s writer, freelance journalist, copywriter, editor and cartoonist. She has a diverse range of experience in the publishing industry, a large part of it spent at Limca Book of Records. She has authored over thirty-five books for children. She conducts creative writing workshops and dreams of moving to Goa someday.

ARUNAVA GHOSH

Arunava Ghosh is a senior advocate, Calcutta High Court and a seasoned political voice from the city. He has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly and is known for his keen legal mind and his extensive pro-bono work. He has also written extensively on different political and legal issues in Aajkal, Anandbazar patrika, The Statesman and others.

ASHWIKA KAPUR

Ashwika Kapur is a qualified Science Communicator & Natural History Filmmaker with over five years of professional experience in the Natural History Film Industry. She is India’s youngest and only woman to win the Panda Award or Green Oscar in a Global Category. She won Best Emerging Filmmaker for a quirky, rags-to-riches film about a celebrity Kakapo – Sirocco.

AVIK CHANDA

Avik Chanda holds degrees in economics from Kolkata’s Presidency College and the Delhi School of Economics. With two decades of global Big 4 Consulting experience, he is a business adviser, entrepreneur, trainer and a speaker at the Outstanding Speaker’s Bureau. He has published two poetry collections, Jokhon Bideshe, in Bengali and Footnotes, besides a novel, Anchor. His acclaimed business book, From Command to Empathy: Using EQ in the Age of Disruption (HarperCollins, 2017), co-authored with Suman Ghose, was featured in 2018 in Amazon India’s Best Reads, under ‘Business, Strategy and Management’. His most recent book is Dara Shukoh: The Man Who Would be king.

AYUSHMAN JAMWAL

Ayushman Jamwal is a Senior News Editor at CNN-News18 and a reputed columnist for The Times of India and The Speaking Tree. Ayushman's first poetry collection, ‘Chameleon Lights’ featured in the top 10 Poetry Bestseller list in 2017. His second poetry collection 'Silent Sun' is out now. Ayushman was recently honoured with the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize for promoting the Art of Poetry, as well as the Asian Literary Society’s Wordsmith Poetry Prize for his celebrated poem on Triple Talaq titled ‘Am I Not God’s Child?’. Ayushman is also the founder of the poetry collective Wings of Verse.

BACHI KARKARIA

Bachi Karkaria is a veteran journalist, author, media trainer and columnist with the Times of India. She also curates the Times Lit fest. Her books include Dare to Dream, a best-selling biography of MS Oberoi; Mills, Molls And Moolah, Behind The Times, Mumbai Masti, in collaboration with the designer Krisna Mehta, The Cake That Walked and In Hot Blood: The Nanavati Case That Shook India.

BAISALI CHATTERJEE DUTT

Baisali Chatterjee Dutt is a former columnist and agony aunt for one of India's leading parenting magazines. She has compiled and edited two volumes for the Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul series, namely the volumes ‘On Friendship’ and ‘Celebrating Brothers and Sisters’. Her book, Sharbari Datta: The Design Diva, is a biography on one of Calcutta’s leading luminaries in the fashion world. She has also co-authored My Frozen Embryo along with Bali D. Sanghvi and Ipshita Bhandary, a real-life account of Bali’s battle with infertility. Baisali's other great passion is theatre. She has performed with some of the country's top English theatre groups like Raell Padamsee's ACE productions in Mumbai, and Kolkata's Red Curtain.

BIJOYA SAWIAN

Bijoya Sawian is a translator and writer who lives in Shillong and Dehra Dun in north India. She is the author of several books, including Shadow Men, also published by Zubaan.

BRONWYN FREDERICKS

Bronwyn Fredericks is a researcher and author with over 30 years of experience working in and with the Australian universities, State and Federal Governments, and Indigenous community based organisations. She has been a leader in the strategic vision, direction and achievement of results in relation to Indigenous Australians within the higher education sector, editing Yatdjuligin: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nursing and Midwifery Care (2014) and contributing to dozens of book chapters and journal articles. She is current Pro-Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement) at the University of Queensland, Australia.

BULBUL SHARMA

Bulbul Sharma is a painter and writer. She is the author of several books, including My Sainted Aunts, The Perfect Woman, Anger of Aubergines, Banana Flower Dreams, Shaya Tales, Devi, Eating Women, Telling Tales, Now That I am Fifty, Love and Learning Under the Magnolia and Secret Tales from the Himalayas. Her books have been translated into Italian, French, Finnish and Spanish. She has also written several books for children – Book of Indian Birds, Fabled Book of Gods and Demons and The Children’s Ramayana. She has been conducting art and storytelling workshops for children with special needs for the last fifteen years.

CARLO PIZZATI

Carlo Pizzati is a seasoned journalist who has worked for over sixteen years for the Italian national daily newspaper La Republican, corresponding from Rome, New York, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Madrid. He has covered the Northern Ireland strife, guerrilla war in Colombia, the narcos business in the Andes, illegal immigrant smuggling in Mexico, civil rights battle in Chile, pro-environment militancy in the French atoll of Mururoa, and the GMO battle in Europe and the US. Over the course of his career, Carlo has also been a political talk show host on Italian national TV, a stringer for the WGBH-BBC ‘PRI–The World’ radio, a contributor to the Associated Press, Vanity Fair (Italy) and GQ. Carlo lives in India with his wife Tishani Doshi. He now writes about Asia for the national daily La Stampa, contributes to Scroll and The Hindu, and works as an adjunct professor at the Asian College of Journalism. He is also developing a project with his teenage son to produce affordable football shoes for underprivileged Indian girls. He is the author of two novels, two non-fiction books and a collection of short stories.

CHINMOY GUHA

Chinmoy Guha is an author, translator and academician. A distinguished French scholar, he has been knighted thrice by the Government of France. He has won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2019 for his book of essays in Bengali Ghumer Darja Thele. His most recent work is Bridging East and West: Rabindranath Tagore and Romain Rolland Correspondence 1919--1940.

CHITRITA BANERJI

Chitrita Banerji, a food historian and novelist, grew up in Calcutta and received her master’s degree in English from Harvard University. She is the author of several books on the food and culture of Bengal and India—Life and Food in Bengal, The Hour of the Goddess, and Eating India. She has written for publications such as Granta, Gourmet, Gastronomica, the New York Times and the Boston Globe and received awards at the Oxford Symposium of Food and Cookery. Her novel, Mirror City, set in newly liberated Bangladesh, was published by Penguin in 2014. Her biography of Sri Chaitanya was published in May 2018 by Juggernaut Books. Her next book, an essay collection titled A Taste of My Life, will be published in late autumn 2020 by Picador India. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

CHRISTINE CORNET

Dr. Christine Cornet is a university professor and historian on China. Her research focuses on the history of Shanghai and the French Concession before the communists came to power. She uses old photographs that are compared to archives to write history differently. She is the author of several books published by Scheibli édition, Actes-Sud and Ellipses. After being the Book Attachée in Beijing from 2006 to 2010, she now works as Attachée for the sector Debates, Ideas and Books at the Institut français en Inde (French Institute in India).

DEBJYOTI GHOSH

Debjyoti Ghosh is a human rights lawyer and activist-academic from Kolkata, India. He completed his SJD in Comparative Constitutional Law from Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, after which he was an Assistant Professor of Comparative Law taught at the Asian University for Women, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Currently, he is based in Johannesburg in South Africa and is associated with the GALA LGBT Archives there. He will soon be starting research at the University of Pretoria on Political Citizenship. Throughout his career, Debjyoti has been involved in queer rights activism, including the fight against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. His academic work and activism focus on minority rights, transgender rights and issues around citizenship. He continues to be associated with different NGOs as a consultant and is a regular contributor to the Varta Gender and Sexuality Trust website.

DEVASIS

Devasis is a writer, journalist and communication specialist. He has written extensively for The Statesman, The Telegraph and others. His latest book, Without Prejudice, deals with human trafficking.

DEVI KAR

Devi Kar is a veteran educationalist, the Director of Modern High School for Girls and the Modern Academy of Continuing Education. Besides being a member of multiple Education Boards and Scholarship panels, she is a writer of history books and driver of vintage cars.

EMANUELA SABBATINI

Emanuela Sabbatini is the President and Co-founder of AFLIN. She travelled to India in 2009 as a volunteer in Rajasthan. The women and girls of the rural areas captured her heart and in 2013, along with four Italian friends, she founded the Italian AFLIN, an Indo-Italian non-profit organisation that deals with the protection of human rights and living and working conditions in India. It implements projects of sensitisation, education, training and health, meant especially for women and children. AFLIN is also registered in India.

FRANCESC MIRALLES

Francesc Miralles is an award-winning author who has written a number of bestselling self-help and inspirational books. Born in Barcelona, he studied journalism, English literature, and German, and has worked as an editor, a translator, a ghost-writer, and a musician. His novel Love in Lowercase has been translated into twenty languages. His last book, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, co-written with Héctor García is a bestseller.

GARIMA GUPTA

Garima Gupta is presently working as faculty in the Department of English, University of Jammu. With almost a decade of teaching experience, she has participated in numerous national and international conferences, both in India and abroad. She has published extensively on various topics in national and international journals and anthologies and has written and edited a couple of books with leading national and international publishers. Her translations have been published by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi and J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.

IRÈNE FRAIN

Irène Frain is a French novelist, journalist, and historian. She is a founding member of the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society. Her first novel Le Nabab (1982; The Nawab), inspired by the true story of a Breton sailor crowned a nawab in India, met with great success. Since then, she has written about forty books, some of which resulted from her fascination for Indian culture, both ancient and modern: Devi (1992) about Phoolan Devi, the “Queen of Bandits”, and The Forest of the 29 (2011), about Jambhoji, founder of the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan. To Siberia, I Shall Follow You is her latest publication.

JAIMINI BHAGWATI

Jaimini Bhagwati is a former IFS officer, economist and foreign policy expert. He was high commissioner to the UK and ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg. Bhagwati has served in senior positions in the Government of India, including in foreign affairs, finance and atomic energy. In the World Bank, he was a specialist in international bond and derivatives markets; he was the RBI chair professor at ICRIER; and is a Board member of IDFC's holding company. He is the author of the book The Promise of India: How Prime Ministers Nehru to Modi Shaped the Nation (1947–2019).

JAWHAR SIRCAR

Jawhar Sircar served as Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, from late 2008 to February 2012 and thereafter as Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati, India's national public service broadcaster upto October 2016. He supervised the two broadcasting networks of India, namely, All India Radio (AIR) & Doordarshan (TV).

JHIMLI MUKHERJEE PANDEY

Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey has been a journalist for twenty-four years. She started her career with The Statesman and later joined the Times of India. Since 2007 she has been writing both fiction and non-fiction in English and Bengali. She also translates from both languages.

JIMMY TANGREE

Jimmy Tangree is Currently Heading 91.9 FriendsFm .Hailing from Kolkata,Jimmy started Deejaying in 1983..in 93 he launched Taj Bengals Disco Incognito as a Deejay..He's been into Radio since 1994 ,has been with Times Fm and was Station Head at RedFm.

JO LENDLE

Jo Lendle is a German author and head of Hanser Verlag, Munich. He has worked as a lecturer of German literature at the DuMont literature programme as a programme manager, and then as Publishing Director at DuMont Buchverlag. He is the editor of the literary magazine Akzente and member of the board of the Munich Literature House and the Publishers Committee of the Association of German Publishers and Booksellers.

JOIE BOSE

Joie Bose is a poet and the reigning Mrs East India. She is known for her book of poems titled “Corazon Roto and Sixty Nine Other Treasons.” She has read her poems at various literary festivals in India and abroad.

KARUNA EZARA PARIKH

Karuna Ezara Parikh writes poetry, stories and scripts. She wrote the film Kaash which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

KAVEREE BAMZAI

Kaveree Bamzai is a senior journalist and former editor of India Today. She is the author of the books Bollywood Today and No Regrets: The Guilt-Free Woman's Guide to a Good Life. She has been a journalist for over three decades. A Chevening Scholar, she is passionate about working with children and women empowerment.

KARTHIKA VK

Karthika VK is Publisher, Westland Publications Pvt Ltd, an Amazon company. She joined publishing in 1996 as an editorial assistant at Penguin Books India and moved to HarperCollins India as Chief Editor in 2006. She has published several award-winning and popular writers including Aravind Adiga, Amruta Patil, Anuja Chauhan, Josy Joseph, Manu Joseph, Rana Dasgupta, Raghu Karnad, Rohini Mohan, Sarnath Banerjee and Vishwajyoti Ghosh. Joining Westland in 2017, she led the launch of a new imprint called Context that publishes literary fiction and political non-fiction.

KAVERI DUTT

Kaveri Dutt has spent 30 years of her life in the teaching profession.

KAVITA KANE

Kavita Kané is a former journalist and bestselling author of six books. She is considered a revolutionary force in Indian writing because she has brought in feminism where it is most needed—mythology. Her six novels are all based on women in Indian mythology: Karna’s Wife (2013); Sita’s Sister (2014), on Ramayana’s most neglected character, Urmila; Menaka’s Choice (2015), on the apsara, Menaka; Lanka’s Princess (2016), on the female antagonist in the Ramayana, Surpanakha; The Fisher Queen’s Dynasty (2017) on Satyavati, the grand matriarch in the Mahabharata and Ahalya’s Awakening. Passionate about theatre, cinema and art, Kavita Kane is also a columnist, a screenplay writer and a motivational speaker, having given several talks all across the country in educational and research institutes, corporate and management fora and literary festivals.

KEITH JARRETT

Keith Jarrett is a writer, performer and educator. UK poetry slam champion and Rio International Poetry Slam Winner, his work has included bilingual performances in Bilbao and Madrid, in addition to UK-wide commissions, from arts institutions to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament. His play, Safest Spot in Town, was aired on BBC Four, and his book of poetry, Selah, was published in 2017. Keith was selected for the International Literary Showcase by Val McDermid as one of 10 most outstanding LGBT writers in the UK. Having recently completed his PhD at Birkbeck University, he is working on his first novel.

KAUSHIK SEN

Kaushik Sen is an Indian actor of film, television and theatre based in Kolkata. He is the director of the acclaimed theatre group Swapnasandhani. Kaushik Sen made his acting debut in the Bengali film industry as a child actor in 1979 with the film Ekdin Pratidin directed by Mrinal Sen. He has won the prestigious BFJA award for best supporting actor for his performance in the Mrinal Sen directed film Aamar Bhuvan.

LAL BHATIA

Lal Bhatia is a banker-turned-author-turned-producer of boutique wines, olives, and olive oil. He is the author of the book Indicting Goliath.

LEENA KEJRIWAL

Leena Kejriwal is a photographer and an installation artist. Her seminal works on her city is showcased in her bestselling book "Calcutta: Repossessing the city". She has been an artist in residence in France under the Indo French cultural exchange program. Cities with their socio political and economic structure have been her prime interest and the subject of her large scale photographic installation in Kolkata, Delhi, Tehran, Berlin and Weimer. For the last several years she has been working with several ngo's working on the issue of human trafficking and prostitution of young girls. Her new art work M.I.S.S.I.N.G....takes the issue to the public.

LES SOUFFLEURS

Initiated by Olivier Comte in 2001, Les Souffleurs Commandos Poétiques is a collective gathering 40 artists – comedians, writers, dancers, musicians, plasticians – around a common “attempt to slow down the world”. Known all over the world for their “Poetic Commandos” – in which they whisper literary, philosophic and poetic secrets in to passer-bys’ ears through long hollow canes – the artists work in local languages, and have thus blown in Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Portuguese, Turkish, Romanian, Japanese, and English.

LISA HEIDKE

Lisa Heidke is an Australian author, currently living in Sydney. Known for her romances, she is the author of the popular Lucy Springer Gets Even (2009), followed by What Kate did Next (2010), Claudia’s Big Break (2012), and Stella Makes Good (2012). The Callahan Split, released in 2015, received widespread acclaim.

MANOGYA LOIWAL

Manogya Loiwal is a Broadcast Journalist with Aaj Tak and India Today Television and is currently the Editor of Eastern and North-Eastern India along with Bangladesh. With knowledge of more than seven languages... Manogya Loiwal reports extensively from the region for Television and Digital platforms of India Today Group. Her notable stories include the reportage and documentation of abuses, arsons, rapes and human rights violation at Rohingya villages in Myanmar. Manogya has also received the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism 2016, the Bharat Nirman Award in 2014 and has been recognized for her coverage of the Nepal earthquake in 2015.

MARC LEE

Marc Lee (born 1969) is a Swiss artist. He is creating network-oriented interactive art projects: interactive installations, media art, internet art, performance art, video art, augmented reality (AR) art, virtual reality (VR) art and mobile art. He is experimenting with information and communication technologies and within his contemporary art practice, he reflects critically creative, cultural, social, economic and political aspects. Marc Lee has won many prizes and honorary mentions at international festivals.

MARKUS KIRCHHOFER

Markus Kirchhofer is a Swiss author. He worked as a cultural interpreter at the Stapferhaus in Lenzburg Castle after which he studied in Paris. He has been a freelance writer since 2013. Apart from his books, Markus Kirchhofer has written columns and been involved in theatre and exhibition making. Markus Kirchhofer’s literary works have received numerous awards. He received grants from the Aargau Kuratorium (2014) & Pro Helvetia-Swiss Arts Council (2015).

MILEE ASHWARYA

Milee Ashwarya is Publisher, Ebury Publishing and Vintage Publishing at Penguin Random House India. Her focus has been on championing the best voices in fiction and non-fiction while publishing a range of bestsellers across segments. Her authors include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Yuvraj Singh, Hindol Sengupta, R. Gopalakrishnan, Karan Johar, Anand Neelakantan, Shilpa Shetty, Novoneel Chakraborty, Amjad Ali Khan, Emraan Hashmi, Sonali Bendre and Radhakrishnan Pillai to name a few. A TEDx speaker, she is passionate about issues related to working women, parenting and the environment. She was awarded the Women Achievers’ Samman 2017 for publishing by the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and the Distinguished Alumni Award 2017 for Excellence in Publishing by Hindu College, Delhi University.

MODHURIMA SINHA

Modhurima Sinha is a writer and film maker and has assisted Aparna Sen on some of her films. She has a Masters in English from Presidency College and has written books on Bengal Art and has been invited to the US at New York University, Massart and Wellesley College for lecture demonstrations on her book ‘’ Call of the Real’’. Her two films have travelled across the globe at several festivals. She has just completed shooting her third film. She has a day job at the Taj as Director of PR for the East.

MONICA SHEI

Monica Shie is the American Center Director and Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata. She earlier served both in the Office of International Visitors and at the New York Foreign Press Center, co-located at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Ms. Shie has also served at the U.S. Embassy Dhaka and the U.S. Embassy New Delhi, as well as the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in Washington. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Shie taught language and literature at public schools and universities in New York, Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand.

NANDANA DEV SEN

Nandana Dev Sen is an award-winning actor, writer, and child-rights activist. Nandana grew up in India, England, and America, and has acted in over 20 feature films from all three continents (and in multiple languages). Nandana is the author of six children's books, In My Heart, The Monkey Who Wanted to Fly, Talky Tumble of Jumble Farm, Not Yet!, Kangaroo Kisses and Mambi and the Forest Fire, as well as Youthquake, a fiction series for young adults. She frequently writes for newspapers and journals, and has edited and co-authored a bilingual book of translations of her mother Nabaneeta Dev Sen's Bengali poetry, Make up Your Mind.

NITI KUMAR

Niti Kumar is the Senior Vice President, Marketing Development at Penguin Random House, India. She started her career at FCB Ulka and has also worked with agencies such as Mudra, Lodestar Universal and GroupM. She has worked on the marketing and media plans for blue-chip brands such as Royal Enfield, Makemytrip.com, Mars Confectionary, Amway, Yamaha and Reckitt Benckiser. At Penguin Random House India Niti manages the integrated functions of marketing, digital and communications. Her focus areas include title marketing through digital and traditional channels, management of Penguin’s owned assets, brand initiatives as well as new initiatives like those into audio books, video rights and consumer insights. She is also a keen fiction reader and a TEDx speaker.

OINDRILLA DUTT

Oindrilla Dutt is an entrepreneur, anchor and moderator. She is the Executive Director of Open Doors, an Event Management Company. Dutt is also a qualified lawyer from the Hazra Law College, The University of Calcutta, and has worked in advertising.

PAUL ZACHARIA

Paul Zacharia is one of Kerala’s most beloved writers. He has published over 50 works including novels, essay collections and children’s fiction. He has also written travelogues on Africa, England, Saudi Arabia, China and the Kumbh Mela. A Distinguished Fellow of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, he has received the Kendra Sahitya Akademi and Kerala Sahitya Akademi awards. He lives in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. A Secret History of Compassion, his first fictional work in English, was published in 2019 and longlisted for the JCB Literary Prize.

PAWAN DHALL

Pawan Dhall is a queer activist, writer and social researcher. He is the Founding Trustee of Varta Trust, a gender and sexuality publishing and advocacy non-profit organization and also the editor of the Varta webzine, promoting and sustaining dialogue on gender and sexuality across diverse groups of people. He has been engaged in queer activism, human rights campaigns, writing and research on gender and sexuality since the early 1990s. He is the editor of Queer Potli: Memories, Imaginations and Re-imaginations of Urban Queer Spaces in India.

PINAKI DE

Pinaki De is a well-known and multiple award-winning graphic illustrator-designer who regularly works for leading publishing companies. He has designed covers of over 500 books till date. He was the recepient of the Oxford Book Cover Prize in 2017 for the book cover of Kalkatta which he conceptualised and designed.

PIYA CHAKRABORTY

Piya Chakraborty is a PhD research scholar currently pursuing her doctoral research in the Department of Sociology in Shiv Nadar University, India. She has received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Sociology and her M.Phil. degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. She was employed as a researcher in an international sociological research project conducted by Umeå University, Sweden. She has presented her academic works in conferences in Copenhagen, Shanghai, Bangladesh and India. She has served as guest faculty in the Department of Sociology, Jadavpur University for a brief period. Piya is also engaged in social activism and has collaborated on different projects with NGOs and civil society organizations. Her doctoral work focuses on an exploration of the Indian Chinese diasporic identity whereas her other interests lie in the fields of gender, mental health and contemporary politics, both local and global.

PRAJWAL PARAJULY

Prajwal Parajuly is the son of an Indian father and a Nepalese mother. The Gurkha's Daughter, his debut collection of short stories, was a finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize in the UK and a semi-finalist for the Story Prize in the US. Land Where I Flee, his first novel, was declared a Book of the Year by the Independent, Kansas City Star and Hindustan Times among other publications. Prajwal is the Clayton B. Ofstad endowed distinguished writer-in-residence at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, and heads the writer-in-residence program at the L’Ancienne Auberge in Puycelsi, France. He was on the jury of the 2017 Dylan Thomas Prize.

PRAYAAG AKBAR

Prayaag Akbar is a writer and journalist. A former deputy editor of Scroll, his award-winning reporting and commentary have examined various aspects of marginalization in India. His debut novel, Leila was met with critical acclaim, and shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize. The book also won the Crossword Jury Prize and the Tata Literature First Book Award. Leila was adapted as a Netflix series by Deepa Mehta, Shanker Raman and Pawan Kumar with Huma Qureshi, Siddharth, Rahul Khanna, Sanjay Suri and Arif Zakaria in the lead roles.

PREETI SHENOY

Preeti Shenoy, among the top five highest selling authors in India, is also on the Forbes longlist of the most influential celebrities in India. Her books include Life is What You Make It, A Hundred Little Flames, It’s All In The Planets, Why We Love The Way We Do, The Secret Wish List, The One You Cannot Have, Wake Up Life is Calling and few others. She has been awarded the ‘Indian of the Year’ award for 2017 by Brands Academy for her contribution to Literature. She has given talks in many premier educational institutions such as IITs and IIMs and corporate organisations like KPMG, Infosys and Accenture. Her other interests are travel, photography and yoga.

PREETI VYAS

Preeti Vyas is currently the President of Amar Chitra Katha. She has rich experience of over 24 years with children's content, retail and publishing industries. Preeti Vyas is also the founder of FunOKPlease (2011), a publishing company that creates books on original contemporary Indian themes for children.

RAJAT GUPTA

Rajat Kumar Gupta was the leader of McKinsey and Company, Inc., from 1994 to 2003. He was also a board member of major corporations including Goldman Sachs, Procter and Gamble and American Airlines and advisor to the United Nations, the Rockefeller Foundation and the World Economic Forum. He served as chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation advisory board, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the International Chamber of Commerce and was the founding chairman of the Indian School of Business, the American India Foundation and the Public Health Foundation of India. Rajat Gupta’s memoir, Mind Without Fear, was published in 2019.

RAJU RAMAN

S.V.Raman, popularly known as Raju Raman, retired as Programme Director of Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata in April 2010. He is presently Programme Consultant to Victoria Memorial Hall, teaches public speaking/communication/journalism/film/German at various institutions and is a freelance journalist, translator and interpreter. He is actively connected with several social and cultural organizations in various capacities.

RAMANJIT KAUR

Ramanjit Kaur has been working as the lead Actor with Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry's 'The Company' for over two decades. Her performance career has taken her all over India and to Festivals worldwide. She has trained at Centre School of Speech and Drama, UK; London Academy of music and Dramatic Arts, UK; Birmingham School of Speech and Drama, UK; Improbable Theatre, UK and Theatre du Soleil, France. Her Film Credits include Deepa Mehta's 'Videsh - Heaven On Earth' and 'Fire'. In 2002, Ramanjit branched out on her own as Artistic Director of 'The Creative Arts', a company she founded with the aim of offering Theatre training and now known for exploring experimental genres such as Site-Specific Theatre. She has also conceived and directed many plays including Site-Specific productions like 'Is Job Charnock coming to dinner?', 'Upon A Yarn' and 'The Merry Go Round'. She has won numerous Awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Sanskriti Award, French Embassy Scholarship and The Charles Wallace Award.

RUCHHITA KAZARIA

Ruchhita Kazaria is a former journalist with The Asian Age and Times of India; Kolkata. She is the Founder Owner of Aarcee Enterprises, an advertising, public relations, media buying and selling house with a Design Studio. She is also a poet.

RUCHIR JOSHI

Ruchir Joshi is a writer, photographer, filmmaker and columnist for The Telegraph, India Today as well as other publications. His debut novel was titled The Last Jet-Engine Laugh (2001). He is also the editor of India's first anthology of contemporary erotica Electric Feather: The Tranquebar Book of Erotic Stories. His piece Tracing Puppa was published in Granta 109 in a series of recollections regarding fathers. Joshi made a film called Egaro Mile (Eleven Miles) on the Baul community.

RUCHIRA GUPTA

Ruchira Gupta is a writer, feminist campaigner, and founder of the anti-sex-trafficking organization, Apne Aap Women Worldwide. She teaches at New York University. She won the Clinton Global Citizen award in 2009, the Sera Bangali Award in 2012 and an Emmy for outstanding investigative journalism in 1996. She has helped thousands of girls and women in India exit prostitution systems. She has also edited As If Women Matter, an anthology of Gloria Steinem’s essays, and written manuals on human trafficking for the UN Office for Drugs and Crime.

SAAZ AGGARWAL

Saaz Aggarwal is a contemporary Indian writer whose body of work includes biographies, translations, critical reviews and humour columns. Her 2012 book, Sindh: Stories from a Vanished Homeland, established her as a researcher in Sindh studies.

SAIKH MD. SABAH AL-AHMED

Sabah Al-Ahmed, who teaches English at Don Bosco School, Guwahati was awarded the ‘Certificate of Excellence’ by the United Nations Association (UNA) – Assam for his outstanding literary achievements in the field of poetry and journalism. He has been awarded the prestigious Reuel International Prize for Poetry – 2019 in the Best Upcoming Poet from the North East of India category. Sabah Ahmed’s poems have been translated into Italian, published in international journals and magazines in countries like Italy, Canada, etc. He has two poetry collections to his credit.

SAIKAT MAJUMDAR

Saikat Majumdar is a novelist and critic. He is also Professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University. Saikat is the author of five books - most recently, the novel The Scent of God (2019), and College: Pathways of Possibility (2018), a book on undergraduate education in India written for a general audience. His previous novels include Silverfish (2007), and The Firebird.

SAIRA SHAH HALIM

Saira Shah Halim is an educator, writer and poet, theatre personality, corporate trainer and a social activist who’s actively involved with causes such as gender equality, justice and women’s issues. She’s regularly seen on national television as a social and political commentator. She is also an Executive Committee member of West Bengal Federation of United Nations Association. Her works have been published in various anthologies. Her film ‘Ek Khaas Aadmi’ was premiered on NDTV Talkies and can be viewed on youtube. She is also a founding member of ‘poetry paradigm’, a poetry group that has done pioneering work in the revival of poetry.

SAMIK BANDYOPADHYAY

Samik Bandyopadhyay is a scholar, editor-publisher, translator, lexicographer and bibliophile. He is currently the Rabindranath Tagore National Fellow at the School for Arts and Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi and Member, Publication Committee, Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. He has contributed essays to numerous film and theatre periodicals in English and Bengali, has interviewed Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Mahasweta Devi, Richard Attenborough, Natalie Sarraute, Salman Rushdie, Derek Malcolm, Reinhard Hauff, etc. for Film Society periodicals and All India Radio and Doordarshan; several of these interviews have been later included in books.

SAMRAT CHOWDHURY

Samrat Choudhury is a journalist and author. He currently edits the Mumbai edition of The Asian Age. He has earlier edited daily broadsheet newspapers in Delhi, Bengaluru and Chandigarh, and his journalistic writings have appeared in most major newspapers and newsmagazines in India. He is co-editor (with Preeti Gill) of Insider/ Outsider: Belonging and Unbelonging in North-East India (2018), and The Urban Jungle (2011) was his first novel. He grew up in Shillong during the troubled 1980s, and has remained engaged with the Northeast’s issues as a journalist throughout his professional life.

SANDIP ROY

Sandip Roy is an author, journalist and columnist. He was the Senior Editor at the popular news portal Firstpost.com and blogs for the Huffington Post. He has been a longtime commentator on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, the most listened-to radio programme in the US. He is also an editor with New America Media. He has won several awards for journalism and contributed to various anthologies including Storywallah!, Contours of the Heart, Because I Have a Voice: Queer Politics in India and The Phobic and the Erotic: The Politics of Sexualities in Contemporary India. His debut novel Don’t Let Him Know was included in the long-list for the DSC Literature Prize 2016.

SANGEETA DUTTA

Sangeeta Dutta is an independent filmmaker and cultural commentator. Her critically acclaimed work includes the award winning feature film Life Goes On (starring Sharmila Tagore and Om Puri) and stage productions The Dying Song and Gitanjali 100. Her published books, articles and music make her a regular presence in international film, literary and music festivals.

SARITA DASGUPTA

Sarita Dasgupta writes and directs plays for children and conducts workshops on subjects such as English Grammar, Communication Skills, Creative Writing and Drama. She is the author of “Feathered Friends”, a compilation of short stories on birds.

SAURABH SHUKLA

Saurabh Shukla is an actor, screenwriter, playwright and director. He is famous for his roles in Bollywood films like Satya (1998), Barfi! (2012), Jolly LLB (2013), Kick (2014), PK (2014), Jolly LLB 2 (2017) and Raid (2018). He has also worked in a short documentary with Ruth Agnihotri and Rachael Agnihotri in Goa. In 2014, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Jolly LLB.

SAVVY SOUMYA MISRA

Savvy Soumya Misra was a journalist for nearly 10 years before joining Oxfam India in 2014. She is the author of the book Beyond Charity: 10 Years of Oxfam India. She has worked with the radio (All India Radio), newspaper (The Telegraph), English news channel (CNN-IBN), fortnightly (Down To Earth) and done a brief consultancy stint at Greenpeace India. She found her calling in rural reporting while working at Down To Earth, where she travelled the length and breadth of the country.

SHARMISTHA GOSWAMI CHATTERJEE

Sharmistha Goswami Chatterjee is the programming head at ZEE 24 Ghanta. She has been a popular face on the television for two decades and has an expertise on films, music and feature stories.

SHOBHAA DE

Shobhaa De is a journalist, columnist, social commentator, opinion-shaper and author of 20 books. She has monitored and written extensively on India’s socio-cultural-political contours for over four decades. Her twenty books include several bestsellers like ‘Starry Nights’, ‘Spouse’, ‘Superstar India’ and ‘Seventy.... and to hell with it!” Her feisty, irreverent style has made her a powerful icon, widely respected for her fearless and independent opinions.

SHIKHA MUKERJEE

Shikha Mukerjee writes and comments on politics: regional, national and Left parties, economics, development, sustainability and the relationship of the State to the women who live in it.

SHUTAPA PAUL

Shutapa Paul has been a journalist for over fourteen years across print and electronic media. Currently, she is founder editor of NewCrop, a video-first, digital media platform for start-ups and entrepreneurs, and founder of a brand-building consultancy, Dharma Media Consultants. A columnist, anchor and panel discussion moderator, Shutapa was selected as one of the fifteen Indians to lead the Australia India Youth Dialogue in 2017. In 2018, she was recognized as one of the '100 Women Faces' by the Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs and Alos awarded 'Woman of the Year in Media and Journalism' by Woman Times. Her debut non-fictional work Didi, the Untold Mamata Banerjee was published in 2018.

SOHINI ROY CHOWDHURY

Sohini Roy Chowdhury, an Indian dancer and choreographer, is also the founder of Sohinimoksha World Dance and Communications and Sohinimoksha Artes de La India in Madrid, Spain. From performing for Danny Boyle at the Slumdog Millionaire premiere to enthralling audiences from Adelaide to New York with her stagecraft and performances, Sohini has been a premier ambassador of Indian culture for the last several years.

SOMAK SINHA

Somak Sinha is the Lead Guitarist and PR Manager of Adbhutam, an Indo occidental Fusion Musical Band formed in 2014.

SOUMITRA CHATTERJEE

Soumitra Chatterjee is a renowned Indian film and stage actor, reciter, poet and artist. He is a Dadasaheb Phalke awardee, and a holder of the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (the highest civilian award in France). He is best known for his collaborations with Oscar-winning film director Satyajit Ray, with whom he worked in fourteen films. His latest movies are Sanjhbati, Bohomaan, Adda, Dristi and Dash Mash Dash Diner Galpo.

SUBRATA BISWAS

Subrata Biswas is the Special Excise Commissioner (Enforcement), West Bengal. Previously, he was the Zonal Director of NCB for the Eastern Region.

SUFIA KHATOON

Receiver of The Kavi Salam Award 2018, Sufia Khatoon is an author, a performance poet and artist based in Kolkata, India. Her poems and short stories have been published in various national and international anthologies of repute. She is a multi-lingual poet and “Death In The Holy Month” is her debut book of poems. Sufia Khatoon is the Co-Founder of Rhythm Divine Poets community Kolkata. She is a PR,Media and Event curator by profession.

SUJATA SEN

Sujata Sen is the Chief Executive Officer of Future Hope India. In March 2016 Sujata retired as Director East India and from the All-India Senior Management team of the British Council in India, where she worked for 20 years. She was the first non-British person worldwide to be appointed a Director of the British Council. She holds honorary positions in several trusts and foundations. Her earlier professional career included journalism and publishing.

SUMONA CHAKRAVARTY

Sumona Chakravarty's work explores the role of art in society, testing its potential in transforming relationships between people, communities and the city. She is the Founder of Hamdasti, a Kolkata-based arts organization, that connects artists to community spaces to collaboratively create engaged public domains. Her recent, personal work focusses on civic engagement and political freedom in the current right wing political context through her dialogue series '30 days of Curfew', and 'The Free Times Repository'. Sumona is a graduate of the Srishti School of Art Design and Technology, Bangalore, India, and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, USA. She is an ArtThink South Asia Fellow (2014), and a fellow of the Global Cultural Leaders Program of the European Union.

SUNANDINI BANERJEE

Sunandini Banerjee is a Senior Editor and Senior Graphic Designer at Seagull Books. A digital-collage artist whose work has been exhibited in India and abroad, and a translator, she also teaches book design at the Seagull School of Publishing.

SUNDEEP BHUTORIA

Rajasthan-born-Kolkata-based social and cultural activist Bhutoria is involved with social welfare activities and the promotion of Indian folk art, literature and culture. He has been featured as one of the 50 youth figures that India can look up to by the Asia Magazine in 2005. In September 2010 he was felicitated with the “The Pride of India” Award in London for his chosen area of work at The House of Lords.

USHA UTHUP

Usha Uthup or Didi as she is referred to, sings in more than thirteen Indian and eight foreign languages. She has sung for films and has been the voice for many chart-topping hits. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2011.

VIKAS JHA

Vikas Jha is a Hindi author and journalist. He has worked for magazines like Maya and Outlook, and is currently devoted to full-time writing. His book McCluskieganj: The story of the only Anglo- Indian Village in India that received the Katha UK honor at the House of Commons, London. His other works include his recent release Gayasursandhan: Story of the twin cities Gaya and Bodhgaya,Varshavan Ki Roopkatha, a novel based on Agumbe Village, Bihar: Criminalization of Politics, Satta Ke Sutradghar: Aazadi Ke Baad Bharat, Bhog: A novel and his latest biography of pop diva Usha Uthup.

VIKRAM SAMPATH

Vikram Sampath is a historian. He has authored four acclaimed books-Splendours of Royal Mysore, My Name Is Gauhar Jaan: The Life and Times of a Musician, Voice of the Veena, S. Balachander: A Biography and Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past. Vikram was awarded the Sahitya Akademi's first Yuva Puraskar in English literature and the ARSC International Award for Excellence in Historical Research in New York for his book on Gauhar Jaan. The book has also been adapted as a play, Gauhar, by Lillete Dubey and is being adapted into a Hindi movie by Ashutosh Gowariker. He established the Archive of Indian Music, India's first digital sound archive for vintage recordings, and is the founder-director of the Bangalore Literature Festival, Indic.

VINAY SHARMA

Vinay Sharma is an actor, theatre director and playwright. He has been with the Kolkata-based theatre company Padatik since 1981.

VIRENDRA K ARORA

Mr. V K Arora is a graduate in mining engineering from Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad. Having worked as President and after having put in 50 years of service with Karam Chand Thapar & Bros. (Coal Sales) Ltd., he is presently designated as Chief Mentor of the Group. KCT has a sizeable presence in logistics of domestic coal, handling about 60 M.T. per year. Mr Arora has been a regular speaker at a number of platforms and Seminars in Indian Chamber of Commerce, Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, MGMI etc. He has been speaking on various platforms in regard to thermal energy vis a vis Renewable Energy as also how they could be made to live with each other. He has also been contributing in seminars on education, environments and Art and Culture.

VIVAAN SHAH

Vivaan Shah is an actor and writer. Vivaan made his Bollywood debut with Vishal Bhardwaj’s Saat Khoon Maaf based on a short story by Ruskin Bond. He has acted in movies like Happy New Year, Bombay Velvet and Laali Ki Shaadi Mein Laaddoo Deewana. He has recently come out with his debut novel titled Living Hell, a murder mystery set against the backdrop of Mumbai’s dark underbelly. He has also directed a play titled A Comedy of Horrors featuring the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

William Dalrymple is a multiple award-winning, popular travel and history writer. His books include From the Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East; Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India; The Last Mughal; White Mughals; and Return of a King: The Battle For Afghanistan (which has been shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson, Duff Cooper and PEN Hessel-Tiltman prizes). His latest book is The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company. He is a founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival.