The Whole Kahani
CURRENT Members
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Kavita A. Jindal
Kavita is a prize-winning fiction writer, as well as a poet, essayist and reviewer. She is the author of ‘Raincheck Renewed’, published to critical acclaim by Chameleon Press. Her story ‘A Flash of Pepper’ won the Vintage Books/Foyles ‘Haruki Murakami competition’ in 2012. Her work has appeared in literary journals, anthologies and newspapers around the world and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and European cultural radio stations. Kavita was born and raised in India and has lived in both Hong Kong and England for many years. She is a Senior Editor at the journal Asia Literary Review. Website: www.kavitajindal.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/writerkavita |
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Reshma Ruia
Reshma is the author of ‘Something Black in the Lentil Soup’. It was described in the Sunday Times as ‘a gem of straight-faced comedy.’ Her second novel, ‘A Mouthful of Silence,’ was shortlisted for the 2014 SI Leeds Literary Prize. Her short stories and poems have appeared in various International anthologies and magazines such as ‘Too Asian, Not Asian Enough,’ and also commissioned for Radio 4. She has a PhD and Masters with Distinction in Creative Writing and post graduate and undergraduate degrees from the London School of Economics. Born in India, but brought up in Italy, her narrative portrays the inherent tensions and preoccupations of those who possess multiple senses of belonging. Twitter: https://twitter.com/RESHMARUIA Mona Dash Mona Dash was born in Odisha, India, and settled in London in 2001. With a background in Engineering and Management, she works in Telecoms Solution Sales. She writes fiction and poetry and her work has been anthologised internationally. She has gained a Masters in Creative Writing, with distinction, from the London Metropolitan University. She is currently working towards a PhD in Area Studies. ‘Dawn-drops’ (Writer’s Workshop, India) is her first collection of poetry. 'Untamed Heart' (Tara India Research Press) is her first novel and is available online and also in bookshops in India. Website: www.monadash.net Radhika Kapur If she's not writing fiction, Radhika Kapur is probably at her desk, writing commercials. She works in advertising and her work has won accolades at advertising festivals such as Cannes, One Show, Clio and Asia-Pacific Adfest. Her writing has been published by The Pioneer and the Feminist Review, amongst others. She recently won third place at a European screenwriting competition and is currently working on a feature film script. |
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Farrah Yusuf
Farrah was born in Pakistan and brought up in London. She writes plays, short stories and is currently working on her first novel. She took part in Kali Theatre TalkBack (2014/2015) and the Royal Court Theatre (2015) playwriting groups. Her short stories have been published in Five Degrees: The Asian Writer Short Story Prize (2012), SADAA Against the Grain (2013) and Beyond the Border (2014) anthologies and shortlisted for the Writeidea Short Story Prize (2014 and 2015). Website: www.farrahyusuf.com |
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C. G. Menon
C. G. Menon is the 2015 winner of the Asian Writer short story prize, The Short Story award and the Winchester Writers Festival short story prize. Her work has been broadcast on radio and is published or forthcoming in a number of journals and anthologies, including The Lonely Crowd, the Willesden Herald anthology, Siren Press’ Fugue II and two of the Words and Women prize anthologies. She currently splits her time between London and Cambridge, and is working on her first novel. Website: https://cgmenon.wordpress.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cg_menon Shibani Lal
Shibani was born in Bombay and moved to the UK in 2000. After a brief stint in Singapore and Paris, she currently lives in London, and works in the City. Shibani writes poetry and short stories. Her story “A Cup of Tea” was adjudged runner-up in the 2015 Asian Writer Prize. Many of her stories draw upon her own experiences of cross-cultural relationships, family ties as well as exploring themes of love, loss and displacement. |
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Alex Caan
Alex has spent over a decade working in Information Systems Security for a number of government organisations, and is currently specialising in Terrorism Studies. A lifetime of passion for writing was sparked by the encouraging words of an English teacher in school, and eventually led to Alex successfully completing an MA in Creative Writing, and writing his first novel Cut to the Bone. Website: http://www.alexcaanauthor.com/ Twitter: @alexcaanwriter Deblina Chakrabarty Deblina is a Bombayite conceived in London, educated in both cities and eventually returned by fate to London - a package 31 years in the post adorned with peacocks, elephants and four-head lions. She’s a lover of words both said and unsaid and stories both told and those yet to unfold. Since 2005 she’s written for various publications in India including Times of India, DNA, Man’s World, and various other dailies as well as magazines. She’s primarily interested in the human chasms from which stories are born. The chasm between genders, cultures, cities and lovers are open terrain for the curious examinations of her pen (well, keyboard). By day she flirts on the fringes of storytelling, working for international distribution at a major Hollywood studio. |
FORMER MEMBERS
Rohan Kar
Rohan was born in London, but spent his early years in Sri Lanka. Several of his short stories have been published in anthologies (Fish, The New Writer, MIR, Tindal Street Press) and, in 2005, he was a winner of the Scottish Open International Poetry awards with his poem, Seeing True, about a father’s fear for his son in war. His short story, ‘We Are All Made of Stars’, about the challenges of mixed race marriage, was broadcast as part of the Introductions theme for BBC’s Radio 4 in 2014. He studied at the Universities of Kent, London and Harvard, and graduated from Birkbeck College's Creative Writing MA with distinction. Rohan has worked as an engineer, trade journalist, lawyer and teacher, and currently lives in the UK.
Iman Qureshi
Iman's first play 'Speed' was produced by Kali Theatre at the Tristan Bates Theatre, and her short film is currently being developed by B3 Media. She is a member of Tamasha playwrights - a writer led collective affiliated with Tamasha Theatre. Iman has also written for a number of publications including the Guardian, Independent, Huffington Post, Time Out, and spoken on BBC Radio networks around issues relating to race and sexuality. She was shortlisted for the Muslim Writer’s Award 2011, and the Allen Wright Award for features in 2010.
Rohan Kar
Rohan was born in London, but spent his early years in Sri Lanka. Several of his short stories have been published in anthologies (Fish, The New Writer, MIR, Tindal Street Press) and, in 2005, he was a winner of the Scottish Open International Poetry awards with his poem, Seeing True, about a father’s fear for his son in war. His short story, ‘We Are All Made of Stars’, about the challenges of mixed race marriage, was broadcast as part of the Introductions theme for BBC’s Radio 4 in 2014. He studied at the Universities of Kent, London and Harvard, and graduated from Birkbeck College's Creative Writing MA with distinction. Rohan has worked as an engineer, trade journalist, lawyer and teacher, and currently lives in the UK.
Iman Qureshi
Iman's first play 'Speed' was produced by Kali Theatre at the Tristan Bates Theatre, and her short film is currently being developed by B3 Media. She is a member of Tamasha playwrights - a writer led collective affiliated with Tamasha Theatre. Iman has also written for a number of publications including the Guardian, Independent, Huffington Post, Time Out, and spoken on BBC Radio networks around issues relating to race and sexuality. She was shortlisted for the Muslim Writer’s Award 2011, and the Allen Wright Award for features in 2010.