Anjum Hasan

Anjum Hasan is an Indian poet and novelist. She was born in Shillong, Meghalaya and currently lives in Bangalore, Karnataka, India where she works for India Foundation for the Arts. [ [http://www.zubaanbooks.com/zubaan_author_details.asp?AuthorID=83 Zubaan] ]

"Street on the Hill" (Sahitya Akademi, 2006) [ [http://www.hindu.com/lr/2006/09/03/stories/2006090300070200.htm Review of Street on the Hill in The Hindu Literary Review] ] is her debut collection of poems about Shillong and her childhood experiences in the hill town. [ [http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/07/11/stories/2006071101030400.htm The Hindu, ] ] Her debut novel "Lunatic in my Head" (Zubaan-Penguin, 2007) was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award 2007. Set in Shillong, a beautiful and picturesque hill-station in the North-east India, the novel beautifully weaves the stories of its characters ranging from an IAS aspirant who is obsessed with Pink Floyd to a college teacher, who is struggling to complete her PhD and yet longing to find love. Its characters are diverse, true, contradictory, simple and complicated and yet real. With their lives all inter-connected and tied to their destinies of living in a small town, the novel paints is like a biography of Shillong in the early 90's. The novel has been described by Siddhartha Deb as 'haunting and lyrical' and as acquiring a 'critical intensity' [http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/2007/12/anjum-hasan-shillong-and-lunatic-in-my.html] which makes a fine read.

Her next novel titled "Neti, Neti"which is in progress, is on the longlist of 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize. [ [http://www.manasianliteraryprize.org/2008/2008longlist.php 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize Longlist ] ] which is evidence of the quality of her writing and her talent.

She has also contributed essays and articles to to the Hindu Literary Supplement, Outlook, the Deccan Herald, Little Magazine and many other journals and newspapers.

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