Kiran Desai in Conversation with Kamila Shamsie

Kiran Desai

Desai was born in New Delhi, India, and lived there until she was 10. She left India at 14, when she and her mother, the noted author Anita Desai, moved to England for a year before relocating to the United States. Desai studied creative writing at Bennington College, Hollins University, and Columbia University. She first came to literary attention in 1997 when she was published in The New Yorker and in Mirrorwork, an anthology of 50 years of Indian writing edited by Salman Rushdie. Her first novel, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, was published in 1998 and went on to win the Betty Trask Award, a prize given by the Society of Authors for the best new novels by citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations under the age of 35.

Kamila Shamsie

Kamila is an award-winning novelist celebrated for her contributions to contemporary literature. She has authored eight critically acclaimed novels, including Burnt Shadows, A God in Every Stone, and Home Fire, which won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and shortlisted for the Costa Prize. Her most recent work, Best of Friends, has received significant recognition, including the Karachi Literature Festival/Getz Fiction Award and a shortlist spot for the Indie Book Awards. Her novels have been translated into over thirty languages. Prior to joining GU-Q, she was a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester. She also holds a lifetime honorary position as Vice-President of the Royal Society of Literature in the UK.