Jury
Anukriti Upadhyay
(English)
Anukrti Upadhyay writes fiction and poetry in both English and Hindi. A collection of Hindi short stories, titled Japani Sarai and a short novel, Neena Aunty, has been published by Rajpal and Sons and two short novels in English, Daura and Bhaunri, by HarperCollins under their prestigious literary imprint, Fourth Estate in 2019. A third novel in English, Kintsugi, is out from HarperCollins in July 2020. A volume of short stories in English will be published by HarperCollins in July 2021. Short stories in both and English and Hindi have appeared in prestigious literary journals.
Iffat Zareen
(Urdu)
Dr. Iffat Zareen is an Assistant Professor at the Mata Sundri College. She did her M. Phil and PhD from Delhi University. Her published books include Besahil Darya, Zarrin Nama, and Pathar Hamare Daur ke. She has written Urdu ghazals - Fort William College ke Dastan and Lucknow ka Dabistan E Nasr. She has 7 novels to her credit. She has received awards from the Urdu Academy and Sahitya Akademi. Dr. Zareen has been penning shers since 1977 and has even performed on television.
Ira Pande
(English)
Ira Pande worked as a lecturer in Panjab University for 16 years, teaching English Literature to post-graduate students. Then, she built a career in editing and publishing, spending almost 20 years in various well-known publishing houses. Her final assignment before retiring from an active career was as Chief Editor of the India International Centre's Publications Division. She has also written a memoir of her mother, the late Shivani, titled Diddi: My Mother's Voice. She is a translator of several books and was awarded the Sahitya Akademi prize for her translation of Manohar Shyam Joshi's T'ta Professor in 2011. She also writes a fortnightly column for The Tribune.
Manisha Kulshreshtha
(Hindi)
Manisha Kulshreshtha has to her credit 7 short story collections including Kathputliyan, Kuch Bhi Toh Roomani Nahi, Bauni Hoti Parchayin, Care of Swat Ghaati, Gandharvagaatha, Anama and Rangroop Rasgandha and 5 novels – Shigaaf, Shaalbhanjika, Panchkanya, Swapnapaash and Mallika, and a collection of love poems. She has also translated novels, short stories and biographies from English into Hindi. She has also received numerous fellowships and awards such as the Krishna Baldev Vaid Fellowship in 2007, Raangey Raaghav Puraskar accorded by the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi in 2010, Dr Ghasiram Verma Puraskar in 2011, Krishna Pratap Katha Samman in 2011, the Jury Award by the Geetanjali Indo-French Literary Prize in 2012, Raza Foundation Fellowship in 2013, a senior fellowship by the Ministry of Culture in 2015-16, the Vanmali Katha Samman in 2017, K.K. Birla Foundation’s Bihari Samman in 2018 among others. She had been publishing the independent Hindi webzine, ‘HindiNest’ for the past 20 years.
Neeta Gupta
(Hindi)
Neeta Gupta is the publisher at Yatra Books and a literary consultant with a special emphasis on translations. Neeta is also the chief editor of Bhartiya Anuvad Parishad’s quarterly journal on translation, ‘Anuvad’. She has been working towards creating publishing connectivities across different languages and cultures. She has edited a volume of essays on translating from and into Indian languages titled, Translating Bharat, Reading India.
Sarwat Khan
(Urdu)
Sarwat Khan is a renowned fiction writer and an associate professor at Government Meera Girls’ College, Udaipur. She holds a PhD in Urdu literature, has published 6 academic works, more than 25 published stories, and over 90 published works in journals, magazines, and edited books. She has received multiple awards and recognitions including the Outstanding Contribution to Literature Award by kAFLA intercontinental’s Chandigarh and the Ehteramuddin Shaghil Award of Urdu Prose by Rajasthan Urdu Academy Jaipur.
Ved Dan
(Mewari/ Marwari)
Ved Dan