Jury Members
Ashwin Sanghi is an Indian writer in the fiction-Thriller genre. He is the author of three best-selling novels: The Rozabal Line, Chanakya's Chant and The Krishna Key. All his books have been based on mythological theological and mythological themes.
Jaishree Misra is an Indian author whose debut novel Ancient Promises was published and sold worldwide by Penguin UK and became a major bestseller in India. It is now a prescribed text on several University BA Eng Literature courses. Subsequent books were a comedy of manners called Accidents Like Love and Marriage and a novel about bereavement called Afterwards.
Dr. Gitanjali Chatterjee, Deputy Secretary, Sahitya Akademi (1993-2017) had been in charge of the English publications of the Sahitya Akademi. She had been in charge of the prestigious projects : Anthology of Poetry 1950 – 2010 in 24 languages and the Anthology of the Writings pertaining to the First War of Independence and in charge of bringing out in 12 volumes in paperback of the Complete English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore.
Sonali Bendre is an Indian film actress who has primarily worked in Hindi films and has won a Filmfare Award. She has authored a book, The Modern Gurukul: My Experiments with Parenting. She has run the Sonali Book Club since 2017
Manimugdha Sharma is a Delhi-based editor with The Times of India. He is an ardent history buff with a fascination for military history. He loves infantry and artillery weapons, horses and swords, and fighter aircraft. When he is not working, he spends time with his first love—quizzing. His book is called Allahu Akbar: Understanding the Great Mughal in Today's India.
Yasser Usman is a journalist by tribe, a television producer by creed and a film commentator by caste. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Award for excellence in journalism and the NT (News Television) Awards thrice over.
Bulbul Sharma is a painter and writer. She is the author of several books, including My Sainted Aunts, The Perfect Woman and Anger of Aubergines, Banana Flower Dreams, Shaya Tales, Devi, Eating Women, Telling Tales and Now That I am Fifty. Her books have been translated into Italian, French, Finnish and Spanish.
Ramendra Kumar is an award-winning Indian writer for children with 35 books in English. They are also available in 15 Indian languages and 14 foreign languages. He also dabbles in satire, poetry, travelogues, adult fiction and non-fiction.
Shivani Wazir Pasrich a versatile Economics Honours & Law graduate, an Actress and Odissi dancer, is actively involved with social concerns.
Shobha De is an Indian columnist and novelist. She is best known for her depiction of socialites and sex in her works of fiction, for which she has come to be known as the "Jackie Collins of India".
Rishi Pratim Mukherjee is a co-founder of ScoopWhoop which is an internet media and news company. It creates and curates India specific stories.
Arjun Raj Gaind is one of India’s best known comic book writers. He is the creator and author of the critically acclaimed, best-selling graphic novels, Empire of Blood, Reincarnation Man, The Mighty Yeti, Project: Kalki, Blade of the Warrior: Kshatriya, and A Brief History of Death.
A Very Pukka Murder is his debut novel, the first in a trilogy featuring the adventures of Maharaja Sikander Singh, set against the backdrop of princely India during the heyday of the British Raj.
A Very Pukka Murder is his debut novel, the first in a trilogy featuring the adventures of Maharaja Sikander Singh, set against the backdrop of princely India during the heyday of the British Raj.