2023

Anuja writes bestselling novels (seven so far) which sometimes feature war, cricket, murder, and even lok sabha elections and always feature romance and humour. All of them have been optioned by major film studios. Anuja also works in advertising and is best known for her work on Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Kurkure. She writes a fortnightly column for The Week magazine. Anuja lives outside Bangalore with her husband Niret Alva. They have three grown up children and a varying number of dogs and cats.

Satyarth is an author and screenwriter based in Mumbai. A former SAARC Award winning Correspondent with CNN-IBN - Delhi, he holds a Masters in English Literature from St. Stephen’s. Satyarth’s best-selling biography, Sridevi – The Eternal Screen Goddess, published by Penguin in 2019 and charting the journey of the screen legend from child star to becoming India’s First Female Superstar, met with high acclaim. His debut novel, The Emperor’s Riddles, that released in 2014, became a bestselling thriller, earning comparisons with Dan Brown for being a ‘history meets mystery.’ Satyarth’s new book, the magnum-opus Mahagatha, published by HarperCollins this year, is an epic collection of 100 greatest mythological tales from the Puranas of Hinduism. Containing stories of gods, demons, sages and kings in a unique chronological order and described by Anand Neelakantan as ‘a must-have in your home library’, Mahagatha has become a National Bestseller. Satyarth has also scripted Sony’s epic historical TV show, Porus, touted as India’s most expensive series that aired from 2017 to 2019. His short stories have won the British Council award and appeared in Sudha Murty’s Penguin anthology, Something Happened On The Way To Heaven. Named one of the Top 50 Authors to follow on social media and a regular speaker at national and international literature festivals, Satyarth is currently scripting a high-profile web-series based on the Mahabharat along with a Bollywood sci-fi film and writing the biography of Shabana Azmi.

Pallavi is an award-winning foreign correspondent and author. She writes a weekly newsletter on global travel and culture, The Global Jigsaw. Pallavi has reported from across China, Europe, Indonesia and Japan contributing to publications that include, The New York Times, Granta, The Monocle, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Noema Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph, The South China Morning Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Caravan, The Hindu, The Indian Express, Nikkei Asian Review, The Indian Quarterly, Mint, The Wire, Verve, Politica Exterior and El Pais. She is currently Associate Editor of the online magazine, The Globalist.

Her most recent books are Orienting: An Indian in Japan and Jakarta Tails: The Continuing Adventures of Soyabean and Tofu. Pallavi also the author of the 2008 China-memoir, Smoke and Mirrors, which won the Vodafone-Crossword Popular award. Her 2011 novel, Chinese Whiskers, a modern fable set in Beijing, was published in the United States, Italy, Belgium and India. She was lead author of a special Lonely Planet guide to China for the Indian market.

Her book on contemporary Europe's crises, Punjabi Parmesan: Dispatches from a Europe in Crisis, was published in the United States as New Old World: An Indian Journalist Discovers the Changing Face of Europe. It was selected as one of 2016's best books on Europe, by Foreign Affairs magazine. Other books include Babies and Bylines: Parenting on the Move, Choked, an in-depth look at the crisis of air pollution in New Delhi and Beijing and the anthology, A Thousand Cranes for India: Reclaiming Plurality Amid Hatred.

Pallavi was selected by the World Economic Forum as a 2014 Young Global Leader. She was also a member of the Forum’s Global Future Council on Information, Media and Entertainment between 2016-2018.

Vikas is a novelist and former diplomat. After graduating with honours from Allahabad University, he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986 and served in diplomatic assignments in Ankara, Washington DC, Addis Ababa, London and Pretoria. Most recently, he was Consul General in Osaka-Kobe (2009-2013), India’s foreign office spokesperson (2015-2017), High Commissioner to Canada (2017-2019) and Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (2019-2021). Vikas is also the author of three bestselling novels, Q&A (adapted as the multiple Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire), Six Suspects (adapted as The Great Indian Murder on Disney/Hulu) and The Accidental Apprentice. His books have been translated into 47 international languages.

Vikas has been a jury member for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize and the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival. He hosted 78 episodes of a popular weekly programme on foreign affairs called ‘Diplomatic Dispatch’ on India’s parliamentary channel, Sansad TV. Most recently he served as the inaugural Global Thought Leader in Residence at the University of Guelph. He has addressed institutions of excellence and prestigious forums all across the world from Google and IITs to Istanbul Brand Week and the Seoul Digital Forum. He has also written for numerous publications such as TIME, Newsweek, The Guardian (UK), The Telegraph (UK), Financial Times (UK), DNA (India), Outlook (India), and Liberation (France).
Vikas Swarup is the recipient of the US-India Business Council’s 34th Anniversary Award for ‘Cultural Ties That Bind’ and honorary doctorates from the University of South Africa in Pretoria, Carleton University in Ottawa, Concordia University in Montreal and the University of Guelph.

Parvati Sharma's debut, The Dead Camel and Other Stories of Love, earned praise for its depictions of love and sexuality in urban India, and its "lightness [and] lucidity". She has also written a novella, Close to Home, and two books for children, The Story of Babur and Rattu & Poorie’s Adventures in History: 1857. Her first book of non-fiction was a historical biography, Jahangir: An Intimate Portrait of a Great Mughal, acclaimed as an "audacious, conversational history... [that] stands out", and for its "psychologically penetrating portrayal". She followed this with another biography, Akbar of Hindustan, which has been described as "an exercise in delight" and a "stunning portrait of Akbar... rich in detail". Parvati was a jurist for the JCB Prize for Literature 2019 and for the Rainbow Awards 2023. She lives in New Delhi, where she has studied English literature and Indian history, and worked as a travel writer, editor and journalist.

Upinder Singh is Professor of History at Ashoka University, Sonepat. She studied in St. Stephen’s College for her BA (Honours) degree and obtained her MA and MPhil in History from the University of Delhi. She obtained her PhD degree from McGill University, Montreal. She taught at St. Stephen’s College and the History Department of the University of Delhi before moving to Ashoka University.

Singh’s interests range over various aspects of ancient Indian history and archaeology, the history of ideas, and India’s interactions with the wider world. She is the author of many books and her research papers have been published in Indian and international journals. She is the author of Kings, Brāhmaṇas, and Temples in Orissa: An Epigraphic Study (AD 300–1147) (1994), Ancient Delhi (1999), The Discovery of Ancient India: Early Archaeologists and the Beginnings of Archaeology (2004), A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the Twelfth Century (2008), The Idea of Ancient India: Essays on Religion, Politics, and Archaeology (2016), and Political Violence in Ancient India (2017). She has edited Delhi: Ancient History (2006), Rethinking Early Medieval India (2011); and has co-edited Ancient India: New Research (2009), Asian Encounters: Exploring Connected Histories (2014), and Buddhism in Asia: Revival and Reinvention (2019). Her most recent books, published in 2021, are Ancient India: Culture of Contradictions, and The World of India’s First Archaeologist: Letters from Alexander Cunningham to J.D.M. Beglar.

Upinder has been a recipient of the Netherlands Government Reciprocal Fellowship, Ancient India and Iran Trust/Wallace India Visiting Fellowship, Daniel Ingalls Fellowship at the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and Erasmus Mundus Fellowship at the University of Leuven. She was awarded the Infosys award for Social Sciences—History in 2009.

Christopher is a bestselling author, a TEDx speaker, a Mahabharata scholar, and an explorer of ancient archaeological sites and legends around the world. His novels are acclaimed for their fascinating worlds where ancient secrets and legends blend with science and history to create gripping narratives. His debut novel, The Mahabharata Secret (2013), was an instant bestseller, featuring among the top 10 books of 2013 and was nominated for the Raymond Crossword Book Award, 2014. In 2014 Christopher launched The Mahabharata Quest series, a contemporary thriller series featuring an explosive blend of history, science and mythology. The series features the bestselling novels The Alexander Secret (2014), The Secret of the Druids (2016) and The Khandavaprastha Conspiracy (2022). In April 2018, Christopher released The Pataala Prophecy series: a fantasy thriller series blending fantasy and Indian mythology in contemporary India. The first two books in the series, Son of Bhrigu (2018) and The Mists of Brahma (2019), were instant bestsellers. In January 2022, Audible released Christopher’s first Audible Original audio show, The Magadh Mystery, a story set in modern times, based on the Mahabharata, blending history, mystery and suspense, and was ranked the fourth most played thriller podcast in 2022. Christopher graduated from St. Stephens College, Delhi with a degree in Economics and studied business management at IIM Calcutta. He lives in Goa with his wife, and enjoys writing, reading, swimming and tennis as well as travelling and meeting people. He is also a musician and until the pandemic struck, lived his passion for music through his band, which plays classic rock.

Kevin is one of the youngest mythological and fantasy authors. Kevin made his mark in the literary world with his debut book at the age of 14. His book was released by Sheila Dikshit, the then-Chief Minister of Delhi. Translated into six different languages, he has written 15 best-selling novels which include the Narasimha Trilogy. Some of his works have also been turned into audiobooks. His amiable personality, witty sense of humour and sharp thinking make him one of the most loved authors. He was regarded as a “mythological phenomenon” by The Hindu, owing to the success of his books. With his diverse interests and prolific writing, he strives to pave his way ahead with many more books to write in future. While Kevin embraces and wears multiple hats by being an author, speaker and CEO of Hubhawks.

Preeti Vyas is the President and CEO of Amar Chitra Katha Private Limited, publishers of the iconic Amar Chitra Katha comics and Tinkle magazine. During the past 5 years at ACK, Preeti has been passionately working with her team to give both these iconic brands, powerful digital avatars and a confident global presence. They are on a mission to not just protect the legacy of their founder Anant Pai but create fresh content that endears itself to the young reader of today and that is accessible on every possible medium and platform. Through her 29-year-long career, in the content and retail industries, Preeti has been a retailer, publisher, editor, author and entrepreneur. She has worked in a variety of organisations such as ToysRUs, Sony Music, Future Group and Crossword. Her entrepreneurial stints include running her own children’s bookstore Kidztown and setting up the award-winning publishing house FunOKPlease Publishing which creates contemporary Indian content for children, including the popular ‘Toto the Auto’ series. Preeti is also the author of the children’s book, “The Adventures of Woka Chimni” published by Penguin India in 2018. She is also a jury member of the Advertising standards Council of India and governing council member of the Media Entertainment Skills Council of India. Preeti is a seasoned bibliophile who believes the solution to any problem in life can be found within the pages of a book somewhere. She believes passionately in the power of children’s books to shape the future of India and the world. Preeti is a practicing Buddhist and lives in Mumbai with her 14-year-old son.

Tisca is known for carefully choosing to be part of stories that needed to be brought to the people. With the burning desire to act, every endeavor of hers has been respected and applauded. Tisca has acted in over 50 feature films in different languages with many eminent directors like Aamir Khan, Prakash Jha, Sudhir Mishra, Abhinay Deo and others. Beyond her acting career, Tisca has worked with Sam Pitroda on the National Knowledge Commission, to help revamp the Education system. She works consistently with NGOs and small business to give a leg up to entrepreneurs. She authored a book called 'Acting Smart', which talks about the ingredients needed to make a successful career as an actor.

Shipra Khanna is an Indian celebrity chef, restaurateur, author and television personality. She is best known for, at the age of 29, winning the second season of the Indian television show MasterChef India (2012) which aired on Star Plus. After winning MasterChef India (season 2), Shipra had a television show as a celebrity chef on Food Food, and went on to star in many more Televised Cooking Shows. In September 2013, she opened her first Restaurant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat named “H.O.T – House of Taste”. In January 2017, Shipra Opened her First Restaurant in New Delhi, India named The Darzi Bar & Kitchen.

Nikesh Murali has won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the Asian region and the DWL Story Prize, he has also received honourable mentions for the Katha Short Story Prize twice. Considered one of the pioneers of podcasting in India, Nikesh is the writer, narrator, and producer of India’s most critically acclaimed storytelling podcast, Indian Noir. This chart-topping podcast has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, India Today, The Hindu, Times of India, New Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Deccan Herald, The Statesman, The Week, The Telegraph, The Economic Times, and Mid-Day, among other media outlets. It has received rave reviews on major podcasting platforms from critics and listeners alike, and is widely regarded as one of India’s best horror and crime podcasts. Nikesh’s popular audio novel, "His Night Begins", which was praised by Crime Fiction Lover magazine for its terse action scenes and brutal realism, was released to critical acclaim. This work earned him the accolade of 'the most hardboiled of Indian crime writers' from the World Literature Today Journal. Nikesh's first collection of horror novelettes "Tales of Horror" was recently published by Fingerprint Publishing to rave reviews.