Archives: Authors

Anjana Appachana was born and educated in India, where she did her BA (Hons) in English at Delhi University and her MA in Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University. After working in India for a few years, she went on to do her MFA in Creative Writing at Penn State. Subsequently, she has been living both in the US and in India. Appachana’s book Incantations & Other Stories was published in the UK, India, the US, Germany and France, and her novel Listening Now, in the US, India and France. Her short stories have been published in various journals, anthologies and magazines. Appachana is a recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship and an O. Henry Festival prize. She is based in Arizona.

Tarun Mehrishi is a lawyer from the National Law School in Bengaluru and a graduate of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He has worked as a corporate lawyer with two of India’s leading law firms, as the chief operating officer for a sports marketing company in Delhi, and as the head of consulting for India’s leading sports marketing outfit. In addition to writing, Tarun is currently pursuing his other passion in entrepreneurship and is the co-founder of Astylos Energy, an EV start-up. Once an avid sportsperson, age and the lack of fitness have converted him into an avid golfer, one that is self-proclaimed as getting better each day. Tarun lives in Delhi with his wife, Aastha, and son, Shaurya, and his parents, Rajiv and Mira.

Ashok Lahiri is a distinguished Indian economist and a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from Balurghat. He also serves as a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission. Lahiri previously served as 12th Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, reader at the Delhi School of Economics, executive director at the Asian Development Bank, chairman of Bandhan Bank and director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. He has also had stints with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as a consultant and senior economist, respectively.

A. Helwa believes that every single person on earth is deeply loved by the Divine. She is an award-winning writer who has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers through her passionate, poetic, and love-based approach to spirituality. She is the author of the internationally bestselling book, Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam, which is currently being translated into six different languages. With over fifteen
years of experience writing and speaking on Islam and spiritual development, A. Helwa draws from her personal experiences
and traditional sources to help her readers access ‘Divine love in everyday life.’ When A. Helwa is not reading at coffee shops, she
can be found travelling, camping in deserts, hiking through jungles, or reading about black holes. Learn more about her work and how
to approach the Divine through love at www.authorahelwa.com.

CEO at 33. Regional Head at 36. Left it all at 39 to pursue his calling to embark on a journey of personal growth and of helping others in theirs.

Rajiv Vij is a life and executive coach, author and speaker. He works with senior leaders of several Fortune 500 companies and other large organisations across Asia and India and has been a coach to industry leaders like Arun Nanda (Chairman, Mahindra Holidays), Harsh Mariwala (Chairman, Marico), Rajesh Jejurikar (Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra), Raman Ramachandran (former Chairman, BASF India) and Sanjay Gupta (former Chairman, American Express India). He also voluntarily coaches a number of founders and leaders of social-sector organisations.

He is the author of Discovering Your Sweet Spot: A Soul-searching Guide for Creating the Life You Really Want. Prior to finding his calling and starting his coaching practice in 2006, he served as Managing Director, Asia for Franklin Templeton.

M.A. MODHAYAN is a devoted father and husband. A middle child, yet an elder brother. A debut writer, with deep interest in music history and theory. Mostly inspired by man-made gods, the concept of time, futurism, and humanism. KaiKa’s Songs is his debut novel.

Nick Trenton grew up in rural Illinois and is quite literally a farm boy. His best friend growing up was his trusty companion Leonard the dachshund. RIP Leonard. Eventually, he made it off the farm and obtained a BS in Economics, followed by an MA in Behavioral Psychology.

Gaurav Joshi has been a resident of Australia for thirty years. After working ten years in IT, Gaurav decided to switch to sports journalism. For the past decade Gaurav has freelanced as a writer and broadcaster for various media agencies, such as Fox Sports, Cricket Australia, Mid-Day, ABC, BBC and other cricketing websites.

Geet Chaturvedi is one of the most widely read contemporary literary authors writing in Hindi. He has authored two collections of novellas, three books of poetry, two non-fiction and a full-length novel. The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the Syed Haidar Raza fellowship for fiction writing, he was named among the Ten Best Young Writers of India by Indian Express. He won the 2021 Vatayan-UK Literary Award for his contribution to Hindi literature. His novel Simsim, in English translation by Anita Gopalan, won a PEN/Heim grant and was longlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature. His works have been translated into twenty-four languages.

Anita Gopalan is a literary translator. Her translations from Hindi include Geet Chaturvedi’s The Memory of Now (winner of the Anomalous Press Poetry Chapbook Contest), Simsim (recipient of a PEN/Heim Translation Grant and longlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature), The Master of Unfinished Things (named a notable translation by World Literature Today), and The Funeral (included in Best Literary Translations, Deep Vellum). Her work has appeared in AGNI, Asymptote, Chicago Review, Poetry International, Two Lines, Words Without Borders and the World Literature Today centennial anthology.