Esther David writes about Jewish life in India and personally illustrates her books. She is the author of the highly acclaimed The Walled City, Book of Rachel, Man with Enormous Wings and Ahmedabad: City with a Past, among others. She has also written a collection of short stories, By the Sabarmati, a children’s book, My Father’s Zoo, and co-authored India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art and Life-cycle. Her books have been translated into several languages, including French, Gujarati and Marathi. Her work is included in the library of modern Jewish literature, Syracuse University Press, New York. Esther received the Sahitya Akademi Award for English Literature in 2010 and the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Research Award, USA, for documenting the Bene Israel Jews of Gujarat and the study of Indo-Jewish cuisine. The French translation of Book of Rachel received the Prix Eugénie Brazier. Esther belongs to the Bene Israel Jewish community of Ahmedabad.

Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, was born in Juhu, Mumbai, India in 1977. He is an alumnae of Mumbai’s Mithibai College, and later pursued an MA in International Journalism at the University of Westminster, London, where he specialised in Photography in 1999. He is an Indian author in English-language whose notable books include, The Last Song of Dusk and The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay. His book, The Last Song of Dusk, has been translated into 10 languages.

Trisha Das is the author of the very popular romcom Never Meant To Stay, Ms Draupadi Kuru: After the Pandavas and its sequel The Misters Kuru: A Return to Mahabharata, which feature characters from the Mahabharata dropping down from heaven into modern day Delhi, Kama’s Last Sutra, a historical time-travel romance, The Mahabharata Re-imagined, The Art of the Television Interview and the internationally acclaimed How to write a Documentary Script. Ms Draupadi Kuru was nominated for the MAMI Book to Screen award. Trisha has written columns and short stories for Magical Women, a feminist fantasy anthology, and publications like Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Grazia India, Hindustan Times and Scroll. She also sits on the jury for the Orange Flower Festival. In her film-making career, Trisha has directed over 40 documentaries. She's won an Indian National Film Award and was the University of Georgia’s International Artist of the year.

Ganesh N. Devy is a thinker, cultural activist and institution builder best known for the People’s Linguistic Survey of India and the Adivasi Academy created by him. He writes in three languages—Marathi, Gujarati and English. His first full length book in English After Amnesia (1992) was hailed immediately upon its publication as a classic in literary theory. Since its publication, he has written and edited close to ninety influential books in areas as diverse as Literary Criticism, Anthropology, Education, Linguistics and Philosophy. In 1996, he gave up his academic career in order to initiate work with the Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNT) and Adivasis. During this work, he created the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre at Baroda, the Adivasis Academy at Tejgadh, the DNT-Rights Action Group and several other initiatives.

Manu S Pillai is the author of the award-winning The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore (HarperCollins India, 2015), Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji (Juggernaut, 2018), The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History (Context, 2019), False Allies: India’s Maharajahs in the Age of Ravi Varma (Juggernaut, 2021), and most recently, Gods, Guns and Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity (Penguin Allen Lane, 2024). Formerly Chief of Staff to Dr Shashi Tharoor MP, he has in the past worked at the House of Lords in Britain, with Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL, and with the BBC on their Incarnations history series, assisting Dr Sunil Khilnani. Written over six years and researched in three continents, Manu’s first book, The Ivory Throne won the 2016 Tata Lit Live Prize for best first work of non-fiction and the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar.

Shrayana Bhattacharya trained in development economics at Delhi University and Harvard University. Since 2014, in her role as an economist at a multilateral development bank, she has focused on issues related to social policy and jobs. Prior to this, she worked on research projects with the Centre for Policy Research, SEWA Union and Institute of Social Studies Trust. Her writing has appeared in the Indian Express, EPW, Indian Quarterly and The Caravan. Sharanya has won the Best Author Non-Fiction Award in the 3rd edition of the AutHer Awards for her book - Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence.

Devashish Makhija has written and directed the full length award-winning feature films 'Joram', 'Bhonsle' and 'Ajji' - all three of which premiered at IFFR Rotterdam and BIFF Busan - and the multiple-award-winning short films 'Cycle', 'Cheepatakadumpa', 'Taandav', 'El'ayichi', 'Agli Baar', 'Rahim Murge pe mat ro', 'Absent', and 'Happy’. 'Joram' won two Filmfare Awards this year for Best Film (Critics) and Best Story; and two Film Critics Guild awards for Best Writing and Best Editing. 'Bhonsle' won a National Award and a Film Critics Guild award in 2021. Makhija is a multi-practice artist. He has had his own solo art show 'Occupying Silence', and is a prolific writer, having written the bestselling children's books 'When Ali became Bajrangbali', 'Why Paploo was perplexed' and 'We are the dancing forest', a collection of short stories 'Forgetting' (now republished as 'Joram'), and the multiple-award-winning YA novel 'Oonga'. His anthology of poems 'Bewilderness' is out next year. He has been widely published by the Sahitya Akademi, Harper-Collins, Penguin, Akashic, Red River, Tulika, Scholastic, and many others.

Priya Dutt Roncon is an Indian politician and social worker. She was elected for the first time to the 14th Lok Sabha from Mumbai North West constituency in Maharashtra on 22 November 2005, representing the Indian National Congress party. She represented the Mumbai North Central constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha from 2009. Daughter of the actor and politician Sunil Dutt and actress Nargis Dutt. She is the sister of actor Sanjay Dutt and Namrata Dutt. Music composer Jaddanbai was her maternal grandmother, and actor Anwar Hussain was her uncle. With her sister, she published a memoir, Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories of our Parents, in 2007

Anasuya Vaidya is the Director - Akshara Theatre. As the second-generation co-founder and director of Akshara Theatre, 65-year-old Anusuya Vaidya continues to run it as her late parents—playwright Gopal Sharman and thespian Jalabala Vaidya—envisioned it: a blend of classical Indian culture and modern theatrical expression

Anita Nair is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of the novels The Better Man, Ladies Coupé, Mistress, Lessons in Forgetting, Idris: Keeper of the Light and Alphabet Soup for Lovers. She has also authored a crime series featuring Inspector Gowda. Anita Nair’s other books include a collection of poems titled Malabar Mind, a collection of essays titled Goodnight & God Bless and six books for children. Anita Nair has also written two plays and the screenplay for the movie adaptation of her novel Lessons in Forgetting which was part of the Indian Panorama at IFFI 2012 and won the National Film Award in 2013. Among other awards, she was also given the Central Sahitya Akademi award and the Crossword Prize. Her books have been translated into over thirty one languages around the world. She is also the founder of the creative writing and mentorship program Anita’s Attic.

Suvir Saran, is a chef, cookbook author, educator as well as a farmer who specializes in bringing Indian cooking to the American kitchen. Currently lives on American Masala Farm with his partner Charlie, in Hebron, New York. He studied visual arts at Sir J. J. School of Art in Bombay before leaving India in 1993 to study in New York City at the School of Visual Arts. During this time he enjoyed cooking and entertaining friends when he was not working or going to school. He quickly took what was a hobby and turned it into a catering business Rasoi, The Indian Kitchen. In 1997 joined the staff at Department of Food and Nutrition at New York University's Professional Development and Continuing Education Program. Later becoming an executive chef at Dévi on East 18th Street in New York City, appearing on Bravo's Top Chef: Masters (season 3) and writing several best selling cookbooks. On 10 November 2015, Suvir Saran hosted an evening of bold Indian cuisine as part of the University of Notre Dame's prestigious celebrity chef series.

Sutapa Basu is a best-selling, award-winning author as well as an educationist, poet and a translator. Her historical novel, The Curse of Nader Shah won the Best Fiction Award by AutHer Awards, 2019 instituted by JK Papers and The Times of India. She is the 2016 First Prize winner of The Times of India’s Write India Campaign for Amish Tripathi while her debut, a psychological thriller, Dangle was nominated for the Anupam Kher Award for Best Debut English Novel in 2017. In 2021, she received an award for Excellence in Publishing by the Public Diplomacy Forum.

She is well-known for her best-selling historical fiction, Padmavati, The Queen Tells Her Own Story (2017). Her second historical fiction initiated the Invader Series with The Legend of Genghis Khan (2018) and continued with The Curse of Nader Shah (2019). In 2020, an e-anthology Out Of The Blue, Stories with a Twist was released. She published a cozy-mystery for young readers, The Cursed Inheritance (2021) as well as an English translation of the iconic Thakurmar Jhuli titled Princesses, Monsters and Magical Creatures (2021). A non-fiction for young readers, The Birth of My Nation was released in 2022. This book has been prescribed as a supplementary reader in several schools. Her latest historical narrative, Parvati Bai, The Forgotten Witness of the Battle of Panipat was launched in 2023. In 2024, her next mystery book for young adults, Murder In The Jungle as well as an anthology for all readers, titled The Anatomy of Affection, Tales That Touch The Heart have been released.

Sutapa’s short stories have appeared in anthologies and she is the author of many educational series at the K-12 levels which are being prescribed in schools in India and abroad. During her 25 years of publishing career with Oxford University Press, Encyclopedia Britannica and Eupheus Learning, she has produced over 600 books.

Sutapa speaks on her own podcast called The Sutapa Basu Show as well as trains school faculty and creative writing aspirants at Sutapa’s Studio. She also runs a live chat show Bistro Buzz Conversations with Sutapa Basu. Recently she conducted several Interactive Storytelling Sessions for more than 100 school children at each session across Delhi-NCR. You can watch her storytelling on Sutapa Your Storyfriend playlist at https://www.youtube.com/@sutapabasu8362 Know more about her work on https://www.sutapabasu.com and reach her at sutapabsu20@gmail.com