A.J. Thomas is an award winning Indian English poet, fiction writer and translator. Formerly the editor of Indian Literature, his publications include the collection of poems Germination and numerous translations, such as Paul Zacharia’s stories translated as Bhaskara Pattelar and Other Stories and Reflections of a Hen in Her Last Hour and Other Stories. For more on the author and his work, see www.ajthomas.in.

Anand (P. Sachidanandan), a much-awarded Malayalam writer, is the author of short stories, plays, essays, and novels such as Aalkkoottam (The Crowd), Samharathinte Pusthakam (The Book of Murder) and Apaharikkappetta Daivangal (Stolen Gods). Two of his works, Desert Shadows and Vyasa and Vighneswara, are available in English translation.

Chetana Sachidanandan, a biologist by profession, is a senior scientist at the CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi. She is also the daughter of Malayalam writer Anand, whose works she has translated from Malayalam into English. Her translation of Samharathinte Pustakam (The Book of Destruction) was short-listed for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.

E. P. Unny is a well-known cartoonist who has worked for a range of newspapers, from the Hindu in Chennai to the Sunday Mail, The Economic Times and the Indian Express, where he is currently Chief Political Cartoonist. His most recent publication is Business As Usual, Journey of the Indian Express Cartoonist. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Institute of Cartoonists in 2009.

Githa Hariharan has written fiction, essays and columns over the last three decades. Her most recent book is Almost Home, Cities and Other Places. For more on the author and her work, see www.githahariharan.com.

K. Satchidanandan is a widely translated Malayalam poet and a bilingual writer, translator and editor. His most recent works available in English are While I Write and Misplaced Objects and Other Poems.

Merlin Moli, a Delhi-based artist, has three decades of sculpting experience with various materials. She has participated in exhibitions both in India and elsewhere.

M. Mukundan, novelist and short story writer won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Daivathinte Vikruthikal (God’s Mischief) in 1989. Four of his novels were made into feature films, with God’s Mischief winning the State Award for the best film. He was the President of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi for three years. His stories and novels have been widely translated into various Indian languages as well as in French.

N. S. Madhavan is a Malayalam writer, commentator and columnist. He has published six collections of stories, two plays, a travelogue, a book of literary criticism, and a novel. The English translation of his novel, Litanies of Dutch Battery, won the annual Crossword award for the best Indian fiction in translation. His most recent work is a collection of stories, Pancha Kanyakakal (Five Virgins).

Orijit Sen Graphic artist, cartoonist, muralist and designer, Orijit Sen is the author of the graphic novel River of Stories as well as many other works of graphic fiction and non-fiction. He is one of the founders of People Tree – a collaborative studio and store for artists, designers and craftspeople. Sen is also Mario Miranda Chair Visiting Professor at Goa University.

Perumal Murugan is a well-known Tamil novelist, short story writer and poet. Three of his novels have been translated into English: Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Kiriyama Prize in 2005, Current Show, and One Part Woman. He has received awards from the Government of Tamil Nadu as well as from Katha Books.

Pinky lives in Kolkata. She was one of the participants in the Kolkata Women’s Dialogue, a series of social art events initiated by artist Joan Marie Kelly and Shikah Das in the brothels of Kolkata.

Robin S. Ngangom is a bilingual poet and translator who writes in English and Manipuri. He describes himself as “a politically-discriminated-against and historically-overlooked poet who, nonetheless, believes that poetry cannot do without love in all its outlandish manifestations”.

Shashi Deshpande has written novels, short stories, essays and books for children over several decades, and has also translated work from Kannada and Marathi into English. Her most recent novel is Shadow Play.

S. Vijayaraghavan holds an MFA degree with a major in painting from the College of Art in New Delhi. He had participated in various shows, festivals and residency programmes, in India and elsewhere. For more on the artist and his work, see http://vijaysvhavan.wix.com/vijay.

T. P. Sabitha, poet, essayist and art critic, teaches English at the University of Delhi and has been a Commonwealth Scholar at UCL, University of London and a Paul Mellon Fellow at the Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven.

Vivek Narayanan is a widely published poet whose books include Universal Beach and Life and Times of Mr S. Narayanan is co-editor of Almost Island, an India-based journal, literary organisation and publisher. He has been a fellow in creative writing at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University, and is now a fellow at the Cullman Centre for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library.

Zai Whitaker is the Director of the Madras Crocodile Bank, where she lives. Apart from her interest in conservation, she loves teaching and learning, and has taught at the Kodaikanal International School. She has also been the Principal of two schools. She plays an active role in the Irula Tribe Women’s Welfare Society in Thandari near Chinglepet.