AnankeWLF - Festival Booklet

Im age: Sara Shoghi

# A nankeW LF | A pril 11- 12, 20 23

Waystoattend or watch thethird edition of Ananke'sWomen in LiteratureFestival

12th,2023

12th,2023

AnankeWomen In LiteratureFestival Voices

Runningahomerequiresahostof skillslikemanpower management, creativity, financialacumen, general awareness/ knowledgeandgoodoldcommonsensewhichis intangibleathomebutdrawsafatsalaryinacorporate environment.- AnuradhaRamachandran

I am very excited to be a part the Women in Literature Festival 2023 and getting to share my work in this platform. It is always a pleasure to discover new artists, authors, and thinkers so I look forward to hearing from the speakers and being thoroughly inspired - Bandana Tulchan

"By weaving stories that transcend time and space, writers can illuminate the path towards a more hopeful and enlightened future Excited to discuss with my fellow writer panelists at the Ananke Women in Literature Festival 2023 how through our words we can inspire readers to dream, to question, and to imagine a world that is yet to be."

- Smita Das Jain, Writer| TEDx Speaker| Executive Coach

AnankeLitfest highlightsimportant literary contributionsand theimportanceof literary contributionsfor abalanced and enlightened life.

-ArchanaSarat

I am happy to be part of this, which exemplifies what Paul Ricoeur said: "The only way that we can come to knowledge is through dialogue;" I would add that it is through conversations that we can hope to achieve an inclusive and egalitarian way of beingin the world.

- Ziba Mir- Hosseini

Ananke

W omen in Literature Festival 20 23

Apr il 2023

In 20 14, A nanke embarked on a quest for making a positive change. It began with publishing stories, interviews and articles of women?s lived experiences to creating empowering spaces built on the mortars of knowledge, cooperation and by galvanizing women?s collective capabilities. The journey still continues; the vision not only remains the same - year on year - the platform re-affirms its commitment to initiate inclusive conversations and positive narratives in the digital realm and beyond.

A ligned with this objective, A nanke is proud to announce the third edition of its respected flagship event ?The W omen in Literature Festival 20 23 (# W LF20 23), a space created to showcase, highlight and celebrate voices from across the Global South.

Moving Beyond Border s

The W LF20 23 envisions to cultivate the art of enunciation by stripping away the complexities of semantics Removing all forms of oppression infused in linguistics through the vectors of race, nationhood and ethnicity, the event seeks to unearth the universality of the language of grief and melancholy

A s JoaoGuimarães Rosa exposits that ?every word has its shadow,?the W omen in Literature festival sets out to explore that migratory experience of language; its journey of losing and regaining, of seeking refuge, for shelter against the notions of banishment, expulsion, ostracism and intersecting the prospects of victimhood and hyper-nationalist fascism.

Br aving A New World ? A Multiplicity of Realities

M any believe the act of creating is more than often linked with the desire to achieve that which has been denied, take for example the Guttenberg printing press to even the Internet These creations saw the light of day all due to the need for the freedom to communicate, thereby giving birth to ?new configurations?of life, nature, power, hegemony, legitimacy and ideology Focusing on the multiplicity of realities, the festival seeks to uncover, consequently deconstructing the crisis of humanism in a post-humanist society and expounding, contemplating ? perhaps ?the end of the era of the V itruvianmandefining the measure of things.

Key Festival Topics

(N ot limited to the below)

Explor ing New Pathways to Creativity and Liter ature

This session will spotlight the evolution of different methods of exploring literature and the creative process. W ith innovation being the bedrock of all creative processes, the conversation plans to focus on new immersive approaches to storytelling, publishing and experiential interpretations.

The Language of Gr ief vis- à- vis the Dialectics of Freedom & Autonomy

This session seeks to unearth the universality of the language of grief and melancholy. Grief is a common denominator in all human experience. It is as universal as it is isolating, as collective as it is individualistic Sweet sorrow is an age-old, wise companion to humanity U nbeknownst to many, grief imbues the spirit of unity albeit in the garb of verbal discomfort. This session centers on acknowledging grief as a universal phenomena and how different expressions of grief, especially on a linguistic level, can help us examine and process lived experiences.

Key Festival Topics

(N ot limited to the below)

The Migr ator y Exper ience of Language

Joao Guimarães Rosa says so beautifully that ?every word has its shadow? Taking cue from the Brazilian novelist?s exposition, this session will delve into the migratory experience of language through translation and interpretation. A journey that storytelling embarks on from a deep sense of loss The loss that occurs not only as a result of linguistic repression due to(and among other things)hyper-nationalist fascism; but also through the spatial dislocation of form and language. The conversation will also focus on a story?s passage from loss to shelter from the notions of banishment and ostracism vis-à-vis the prospects and potential of gentrification and victimhood. M oving the discussion even further, the session will probe into the paradigmatic shift from ?methodological nationalism to methodological transnationalism,?which weaves an intricate tapestry of inheritance and refuge, also that of emancipation and ( to quote fromImaginary H omelands), ?the notion that something can also be gained.?

Digital Disr uption & Content

Content maybe king but in this age of innovation, the challenge for the publishing industry is the intelligent curation of interactive content for immersive experience The question this session plans to examine is whether stakeholders of the traditional publishing sector are disincentivized to affect true change through adaption and adoption? W ary of change, especially in the context of gatekeeping and the democratization of the publishing landscape?

Key Festival Topics

(N ot limited to the below)

Decentr alizing the human to realize an inclusive world - Ending the er a of the Vitr uvian man

This session will focus on the post-humanist criticism alleging that our grandiose perception of centrality in existence is actually destructive O ur shared humanity mayobservenotions of justice, human rights and equality; but only under the shadows of coloniality, racism and autocratic subjectivity H as the time come to bid adieu to the era of the V itruvianmanwho gets to define the measure of all things?

Reimagining Anthropocene: A post- humanist explor ation of climate resilience, urbanism, and nonhuman habitat loss in South Asian fiction

The purpose of this presentation is to explore contemporary South A sian fiction through a posthumanist lens, with a focus on uncovering the themes of climate resilience, rapid urbanism, and nonhuman habitat loss. By situating these themes within the context of the A nthropocene, the presentation aims to shed light on the ways in which contemporary South A sian fictional narratives engage with and explore the challenges posed by climate change, rapid urbanization and nonhuman habitat loss.

Three contemporary South A sian novels - A mitav Ghosh?s "The H ungry Tide" (20 0 4), M ohammad H anif?s "O ur Lady of A lice Bhatti" (20 12), and A rundhati Roy?s "The M inistry of U tmost H appiness" (20 17) - serve as the primary corpus for this analysis Through close readings and textual analysis, this presentation will explore the narrative strategies employed by these works to engage with the crisis of the A nthropocene and provide posthuman reflections.

In the end, the presentation aims to demonstrate how fiction engages with pressing ecological issues and environmental crisis. It will provide a nuanced understanding of the ways in which South A sian fiction is reimagining and reshaping the future through a posthumanist lens to emphasize a more-than-human world and address the consequences of anthropocentrism

Key Festival Topics

(N ot limited to the below)

Blur red Lines: On Science, Fiction and Fantasy

This session will discuss the fantastical appeal of science and advanced technology which many deem as ?indistinguishable from magic? . Can science, fiction and fantasy help us make sense of the world we live in? D o works of fantasy, science-fiction enable a free way to imagination and help us analyze and satirize our convoluted world? A nd lastly why do genres like fantasy, sci-fi and speculative fiction matter?

The Age of the Gr aphic Novel

This session will discuss the trajectory of visual storytelling from hieroglyphics to comics and the graphic novel.Q uestions set forth include what value does visual narratives provide readers and more importantly the masses? A nd if in fact it is a powerful tool that ?speaks to the masses?why has it not found its place in the canons of literature. Living in the age of the M etaverse, are we now truly entering the golden era of the graphic novel?

Key Festival Topics

(N ot limited to the below)

Tr ansnational Feminism, Film and Media

This session will explore the resurgence and evolution of transnational feminism beginning with movies like M other India (India), M uthi Bhar Chawal (Pakistan),Two W omen (Italian/H ollywood), M irch M asala (India) juxtaposed against films epitomizing hegemonic representations of masculinities such as M aula Jutt (especially the older version), and Last Tango in Paris etc. The conversation will focus on feminist narratives and discourse in response to the cultures of objectification, commodification and violence as depicted, positioned and glorified in film and across the media landscape. W hat are the challenges and complexities of gendered movements in transnational contexts (including transnational media) in light of movies like Gone Girl vis-à-vis its feminist interpretation as well as backlash.

Footpr ints on the Sands of Time: Ar ab Women in Liter ature vis- vis War, Resilience, Exile & Identity

This session focuses on a conversation about A rab women in literature and will kick off by shedding light on the prevailing perspectives about gender and race ?in the light of the so-called end of the colonial era & birth of modern wars, conflict and world politics. The session will discuss the evolution of literature by women in the context of resilience, exile, tackling gender inequalities and how especially man-made conflict has weaponized gender. It will further explore exilic identities and women?s subjugation, where each panelists will share perspectives on how storytelling (both fiction and poetry) has been enriched through

Key Festival Topics

(N ot limited to the below)

Digital Stor ytelling: A World Pulse Tr ainathon

W orld Pulse is a global social network where every woman?s voice can rise up to make a difference. W e are a safe online space where women are logging on, speaking for themselves, and lifting each other up. W e are on a mission to create a world where our community thrives: one click, one comment, one connection at a time. This trainathon gives you a quick insight on navigating the art of telling your story in a digital space

Facilitator:Kirthi Jayakumar H ead of Training, W orld Pulse

Heal With your Stor y

D id you know that your own story carries a path for you to heal from your triggers, negative patterns, and challenges? Through a simple exercise of writing your story out and using tools for mind-body wellness, participants will engage with parts of themselves that they haven't likely healed from so far. This session is a way for you to draw from writing your own story and then drawing from your own capacity to liberate yourself from your triggers.

Facilitator: Gita Jayakumar

Key Festival Topics

(N ot limited to the below)

Illustr ated Resistance

A rt and the visual has played a pivotal role in the socio-political history of humanity Existing since the time when mankind had limited modes of communication as well as vocabulary, it is an organic canvas representing ideas ?shared and otherwise ?riveting emotions and angst. Keeping in mind the role of art as a fearless and many a times non-conforming tool of expression in terms of resistance, A nanke?s W omen in Literature Festival unveils a fascinating panel discussion titled Illustrated ResistanceThe panel Illustrated Resistance will focus on harnessing the power of the visual and illustration in terms of resistance, resilience, identity and more.

Key Festival Topics

(N ot limited to the below)

Inclusive Publishing

This session will focus on the importance of inclusion in the production and dissemination of the written word, which not only envisions to diversify and democratize the publishing landscape, it offers access and representation.

Publisher 's Cor ner

A series of sessions, Publisher?s Corner, will showcase booklists, authors and publishers talking about the entire process and art of publishing.

Spotlight

A s the name suggests, A nanke spotlights some of the amazing works of authors and creatives from the Global South.

@anankemag

NakiyaNava

Celebrating Illustration Collaborators & A nanke's In-house Team

Special thankstotheseamazing artistsfor their creativeworks

Toview Nakiya's& Sara'swork, check out their Instagram pages: nakiya nava| sarahshoghi

AreebaQureshi

SaraShoghi

SaraShoghi

SaraShoghi

SaraShoghi

& AnankeSocial Media Team

AreebaQureshi & AnankeSocial MediaTeam

AnankeWLF TEA M

A collective - this is what A nanke is about! Ever grateful for the support and efforts our Empower Fellows and especially our partners put in The magic A nankeW LF creates does not have a secret sauce - it is about working collaboratively and not in silos Ever thankful to Seagull Books' N aveen Kishore & Readomania's D ipankar

M ukherjee

Ananke'sEmpower Fellows

- Sabin

Partners, Collaborators

U rvashi Butalia A rpita D as M ehr H usain N aima Rashid A rchna Sharma A ekta Kapoor Saba Karim Khan

Lareeb Tariq A lishba Rahman

A nkita D har Karmakar

Bridget Kezaabu Zara A hmad

Sara D anial Tahseen Zia

Ventura Kireki Terry M bugua

M uheen Zaman N uzhat N isar Shereen Kareem N oor A rslan A reeba Q ureshi

M adiha M ughees

Sehrish Kanwal

Sabin M uzaffar

Speaker

AashishaChakraborty is a PM -YU VA author and W rite India winner whose bestselle rdebut novel -M is(s)adventures of a Salesgirl by Rupa Publications is loosely based on her experiences as a sales manager H er second book is a work of historical fiction with N ational Book Trust, titled The 13-year-old Q ueen and H er Inherited D estiny launched at the W orld Book Fair by N obel Laureate A nnie Ernaux She has written for various Readomania anthologies (Readomania Premium short stories) and e-books byW omen?s W eb and Inside IIM . H er articles have appeared in The H indu, The Times of India, SheThePeople, The Corporate Citizen, CSR U niverse, Sakshi Postand so on She was one of the winners of Kaafiya, the D elhi Poetry Festival A compulsive reader, a V isharad in Kathak and an avid traveller (visited 25+ countries), she is an M BA from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, N ew D elhi and a computer engineer from Jamia M illia Islamia. She has also modeled for a German photographer and likes to blog on her online diary of sorts - ?The M ind Bin? .

Reach out to her at www aashisha comorhttps://linktr ee/the mind bin

Speaker

Southasia Peace A ction N etwork, and focuses on personal empowerment, gender equality and peacebuilding through her writing and initiatives

She was mentor for The D o School's Industry D isruptor 20 20 by W eEmpowerA sia, U N W omen, in India and Europe, and for the N ITI A ayog-U N Investor Consortium for W omen Entrepreneurs 20 20 In the past, she has been the editor of prestigious publications and websites, mostly in the luxury, lifestyle and fashion space

She was the launch editor of Fashion10 1in (D ainik Bhaskar Group), India's first multi-lingual fashion news and celebrity style portal, available in English, H indi and Gujarati Prior to that, she was part of the launch teams of M arie Claire (O utlook Group) and H arper's Bazaar Bride (India Today Group), and was the editor of monthly lifestyle magazines A telier, D iva and W edding Vows

AektaKapoor is the founder and editor of eShe (eshein), a media platform based out of N ew D elhi that amplifies women?s voices and stories about our shared humanity eShe hosts peace summits led by women from around the world to discuss solutions for peace in South A sia, and has launched the nonprofit initiative South A sia U nion

eShe magazine has been media partner for the SA BERA A wards 20 20 and 20 21, The Economic Times SD Gs Summit 20 20 , and W omen Economic Forum 20 17 It has been ranked 20 among the top women?s magazines in the world by content aggregator Feedspot A rticles from eShe are syndicated to M oney Control and reach millions of readers globally every month

A ekta is a founding member and volunteer behind

A s an independent journalist, her pieces on lifestyle, fashion and women's issues appear in newspapers and magazines such as O pen, The Economic Times, The H indu and M int Lounge, besides news websites like N ews18, N ewslaundry CN BCTV 18 and M oney Control In 20 16, she received the W omen Economic Forum award for Iconic Innovative Leaders in M edia She writes a monthly column in M oney Control on peacebuilding in South A sia

She has been a speaker at several forums including guest lectures at IIM A hmedabad, and several other media and fashion colleges in D elhi, Jaipur and Bhopal

She has authored the spiritual memoir '10 0 Paths' and has edited the anthology of short stories

'Everything Changed A fter That: 25 W omen, 25 Stories' Certified in hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming and Pranic healing, she also facilitates fun, empowering sessions and conducts guided group meditations at eShe?s trademarked workshops Shine Your Light

Speaker

Ahlam Bolook is the CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation, established to nurture a love of literature in the U A E and across the region through a year-round programme of events promoting diversity and cultural expression supporting the four pillars of the writing community; readers, writers, publishers and librarians W ith an aim of inspiring all to read for pleasure, it is the home of the Emirates A irline Festival of Literature, of which A hlam is the director. The M iddle East?s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, it provides a platform for open dialogue and forward thinking, promoting a more empathetic society. A hlam is also the General M anager of ELF Publishing, the publishing house under the Emirates Literature Foundation umbrella with a mission to publish strong regional narrative that deserve to be read

A hlam is also the leader of the U A E W ikimedia U ser Group and founder of the Kateb M aktub movement which cultivates free information culture and enriches A rab authors data online.

The Emirates Literature Foundation was established in 20 13 as a non- government, not-for-profit organisation

Speaker

AnnieZaidi is the author of City of Incident; Prelude to a Riot; and Bread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation. She is also the editor of U nbound: 20 0 0 Years of Indian W omen's W riting, and Equal H alves O ther books include Gulab; Love Stories # 1to 14; Known Turf: Bantering with Bandits and O ther True Tales, The Good Indian Girl and Crush She received the Tata Literature Live A ward for fiction (20 20 ), the N ine D ots Prize (20 19), and The H indu Playwright A ward (20 18) for U ntitled 1. H er radio script ?Jam?was named regional (South A sia) winner for the BBC?s International Playwriting Competition (20 11). H er work has appeared in several anthologies and literary journals including The Griffith Review, The A leph Review, The M assachusetts Review, The Charles River Journal, The M issing Slate and O ut of Print She has also written and directed several short films and the documentary film, In her words: The journey of Indian women.

Speaker

H ailing from the cultural heart of Pakistan; Lahore, AmnaZuberi is an independent photographer & storyteller.

Packing a decade & a half long career in communication design, in 20 16, she chose to dive into her passion Since then, she?s vastly traversed across the geographic, cultural and social landscape of Pakistan. Photography is not only her passport to new experiences and learning about the world, but a voice in telling stories H er visuals capture time and evoke emotions, spanning across topographies and life

She?s had the privilege of being the only female Pakistani photographer to cover the 20 19 British Royal Tour to Pakistan.

W ith work featured in 8 celebrated coffee table titles, including the international award winning ?Pakistan H eritage Cuisine? , 3 solos, her own title ?Finding Lahore?was published in 20 19. A visual journey sifts through the multiple layers of moods & senses of her birth city, as she plucks to the surface the ?extraordinary in the ordinary?

H er practice today includes working with publishing houses, magazines, brands, development sector, travel industry, and the fashion and music industry.

Speaker

Based out Gurugram, AnupamaJain is the author of 4 well-received books and 12 anthologies across genres, one of which is a LIM CA record holder as India?s first Composite N ovel

She is an acclaimed community builder, mentor, and multi-award-winning blogger across various coveted forums.

H er books are

?Tales from Katha Sarita Sagara - Retold by A nupama Jain? . This book is included as a supplementary read for middle graders of leading schools across multiple cities

?Kings Saviours & Scoundrels -Timeless Tales from Katha Sarita Sagara? , listed as ?one of the best reads of 20 22?by @W ordsopedia, and the winner, BTB W ordsmiths A wards 20 22 in # BTBKidsFaveBooks category.

'M asala M ix: Potpourri O f Shorts', a vibrant short story collection on myriad manifestations of love

'W hen Padma Bani Paula', a book on acing second chances, listed as ?O ne of the 5 best books of 20 18, Fiction? , byreadwriteinspirecom

A nupama is the founder-admin of ?SeniorSchoolM oms?community, included in FCLL?s first-ever WA cohort and the H ead (Content & Collaborations ) at Incredible W omen

O f India

Speaker

A n English literature graduate from D elhi U niversity, AnuradhaRamachandran gave up her corporate job to enjoy bringing up her kids.A s they grew, she toyed with different ideas to keep herself gainfully occupied W riting came back to her as a manna from the heavens! She rekindled her love for writing by doing freelance assignments with websites/publications in M umbai

A fter spending 14 years in a city that can easily get under your skin, she moved to Gurgaon A midst all the upheaval that followed, her writing helped her to connect with new people and explore her passions some more She continued to write articles/stories to hone her writing skills which eventually culminated in the manuscript of her book in 20 19, before Covid struck She has just published ?The secret of a telltale diet?with Readomania.

A foodie at heart, she enjoys baking for friends and family! Books, fitness, art, music, aesthetics, wine, word games, N ature ?are some of her favourite things!

Speaker

Anuradha(Anu)Kumar was born in Sambalpur, O disha, and has lived in various places in India and elsewhere. She now lives in N ew Jersey with her family

H er first novel, Letters for Paul, appeared in 20 0 6 and was published by M apinlit, A hmedabad She has since then written ten novels, including three works of historical fiction, under the pseudonym of A dity Kay. "The H ottest Summer in Years" was published in 20 21by Yoda Press, and her work of nonfiction, "O ne M an, M any Lives: Bhagwan SIngh and the Early South A sians in A merica" appeared last year from Yoda Press and Simon & Schuster India

A nu has also written for younger readers. H er most recent books are Kings and Q ueens of India, and H er N ame was Freedom: 35 Fearless W omen who Fought for India's Independence She also writes regularly for Scroll in She studied history at D elhi U niversity, and has a degree in management from the XLRI School of Business, and an M FA in W riting from the Vermont College of Fine A rts

Speaker

ArpitaDas is the Founder-Publisher of the award-winning indie publishing house based in N ew D elhi, India, Yoda Press. She is also Senior W riting Fellow and V isiting Faculty at A shoka U niversity, and a Board M ember of PublisH er (www womeninpublishing org)

Speaker

ArchnaSharmarelaunched N eem Tree Press in late 20 18 after returning to the U K from many years living in the U S and the M iddle East The press is a vibrant, independent publishing house producing books that change and broaden perspectives. D edicated to the enthusiastic discovery of both British and international literature, the press is global in scope, with titles under contract from across the world N eem Tree Press books have been showcased at BBC Radio, Vogue, H arper?s Bazaar, The Independent, N ew York City?s Smithsonian D esign M useum, among others Two of our translated YA books by A hlam Bsharat,Code N ame: Butterfly and Trees for the A bsentee shave been shortlisted for many awards, including the 20 20 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for A rabic Literary Translation, the Palestine Book A wards and the Global Literature In Libraries YA Prize The press was also awarded a PEN translate grant for The D jinn's A pple, to be translated by Sawad H ussain and a grant by the Romanian Cultural Institute forThe Book of Perilous D ishes, a book by the best-selling author, D oina Rusti. A rchna studied medicine at Cambridge U niversity and worked in investment banking in London and N ew York. In addition to running N eem Tree Press, she provides strategic and financial advice to healthcare companies. She had never worked in publishing prior to starting N eem Tree Press

Speaker

ArchanaSarat loves to narrate tales to both children and adults. H er debut novel,Birds of Prey, a psychological crime thriller acclaimed to be a gripping and riveting read, was adapted into a web series on A ha Tamil O TT in February 20 22. H er second book,Tales from the H istory of M athematics, a set of historical short stories, won the Best Book award in the Children's category at the Valley of W ords International Literature Festival 20 19

H er recent novel, Sleeping D ogs, a mystery crime thriller, has been appreciated for being a study of human nature and patriarchy H er articles have been widely published in various popular newspapers and magazines. H er short stories and poetry have appeared in various magazines and anthologies

A rchana Sarat is the Founder ofRead W rite Inspire (https://readwriteinspirecom), a writer?s studio filled with resources that motivate writers to read deeper, write better and create a strong author platform.

Though she is a Chartered A ccountant by qualification, she took up her childhood love for writing as her vocation She hopes her writing can inform, educate, impact and entertain at the same time

You can connect with her atwww archanasarat com

Speaker

BandanaTulachan is an illustrator, author, and designer from Kathmandu, N epal. She holds a Bachelor's in Fine A rts from Kathmandu U niversity Center for A rt and D esign in Graphic Communication.Inspired by the rich culture and nature of her homeland, Bandana?s work in children?s books and comics focuses on presenting authentic narratives that celebrate diversity and representation. Some of her published works include Sangita?s Singing by Libby H athorn published by Pax Press, self authored titles Sanu and the Big Storm published by FinePrint Books and Shanti Beyond the Veil for M ovements and M oments graphics anthology, published by Jaja Verlag, Zubaan Books, and D rawn & Q uarterly She co-founded V irangana Comics Collective, a platform for collaboration between comics artists in N epal, which published an all-women comics anthology titled Self Love

Speaker

Chandri, is an artist with the A ravani A rt Project since the last 7 years. Being a trans woman, she works with the collective painting walls and advocating for opportunities, equality and oneness She is extremely hard working and committed to all areas of practice.

A part from painting, she has a keen interest in music, dance and is a foodie

A ravani A rt Project aims to embrace the Transgender Community by creating consciousness, well being through art, awareness & social participation. W hile the visibility of Transgender people is increasing in popular culture and daily life, they still face severe discrimination, stigma and systemic inequality. W ith a mission of attempting to reduce this in society, they bring about change in the way the society views the community

Speaker

Chetna Keer is a novelist, "H industan Times" columnist, social media satirist and TED Circles 20 20 panelist.

She is a former senior journalist and guest faculty at the prestigious Indian Institute of M ass Communication, N ew D elhi She has been invited to conduct "Creative W riting" M asterClass for global programs like D eepalaya's citizen media course in collaboration with M cCandlish Phillips Institute, N ew York, U SA , as also at the M ukand Lal N ational College, H aryana, and the Chandigarh Literary Society

She has authored three books, "Giddha O n M y Gulmohar?(Readomania, 20 22), "Trollitically Incorrect" (20 18), and

"Veggies Go O n A Beauty Parade (Rupa, 20 0 5)

She has been invited as Speaker to leading litfests, from the 20 22 Pune International Litfest and Khushwant Singh Litfest at Kasauli to the Chandigarh Litfest ?Literati?and Sanawar D odransbicentennial Litfest at The Lawrence School, H imachal Pradesh She was also a panelist at A nanke W LF 20 22, and the Khushwant Singh H umorFest, N ew D elhi, 20 20 , where she shared stage with global legends like BBC's M ark Tully

Causes close to her heart, environment and climate crisis, saw her invited as Speaker to the W hitmarsh Knight M emorial Lecture on "Climate Change", Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, 20 19

Chetna clocked a stint in the print media for over 25 years, as Lifestyle Editor with The Tribune, and later as Features Curator with 'Simply Punjabi' of India Today. H er writings have been published in D eccan H erald, H indu, Femina, The W eek, etc

Twenty-five years later (or late!), she rebooted into a full-time N ovelist and social media commentator-cum-satirist through her column "W ITerati".

She can be contacted at:

Twitter @chetna keer; Instagram: @witerati chetna keer

Speaker

ChristinaDhanaraj (She/H er) is a writer, with more than a decade of corporate work experience in India, Singapore, China, and the N etherlands. She is the co-founder of the D alit H istory M onth project and has published on intersectional discourses between caste, gender, religion, race, and sexuality She consults with corporates and non-profits, advising on caste-based diversity, equity, & inclusion, strategic communications, organizational effectiveness, and accountability frameworks. She is also the convener and founder member of the Global Campaign for D alit W omen and is currently working on her first non-fiction book on D alit women and the fullness of life. She is based out of N ew York City

Speaker

Dipankar Mukherjee is the publisher and director of Readomania Publishing. U nder his leadership, the house has produced over 120 books in just about 6 years, with some critically acclaimed and award-winning titles as well H e is an engineer and holds an M BA degree from IIT M adras and has been in the corporate world for 9 years, before becoming an entrepreneur H e also manages business interests in hospitality and manufacturing.

Speaker

FaiqaMansab is a Pakistani writer H er debut novel This H ouse of Clay and W ater was published by Penguin India in 20 17. It has been translated into Turkish and optioned for screen adaptation M ansab?s second novel is coming out in 20 24 with N eem Tree Press U K and Penguin India. She has written for Lucy W riters Platform, M edusa Creatives, Tribune India and others She has an M FA in Fiction with a D istinction from Kingston U niversity London.

Speaker

Farah Ali is from Pakistan She is the writer of the short-story collectionPeople W ant to LiveH er work has been anthologized in Best Small Fictions and the Pushcart Prize where it has also received special mention H er stories have appeared in Shenandoah, Kenyon Review, Ecotone, and elsewhere. H er novel,The River, The Town, is forthcoming in 20 23

Speaker

FarahnazIspahani has been a leading voice for women and religious minorities in Pakistan for the past twenty-five years, first as a journalist, then as a member of Pakistan's N ational A ssembly, and most recently as a scholar based in the U nited States.

Ispahani is the author/ editor of ?Politics of H ate: Religious M ajoritarianism in South A sia?which was published in early 20 23 by H arper-Collins, India and ?Purifying the Land of the Pure: A H istory of Pakistan?s Religious M inorities? , 20 17, O xford U niversity Press, U SA .

Speaker

FehmidaZakeer is an Independent writer with bylines in several publications, including The H indu, The N ational N ews, A l Jazeera, Reader?s D igest, H imal Southasian, N ational Geographic, W hetstone M agazine, N PR H er fiction has appeared in publications such as The Indian Q uarterly, O ut of Print M agazine, Q uarterly Literary Review Singapore, A sian Cha, among others A story of hers was placed first in the H imal South-A sian short story competition 20 13, and another was chosen by the N ational Library Board of Singapore for the 20 13 edition of their annual REA D Singapore anthology. Recently, her translation of celebrated M alayalam writer B M Zuhara?s memoirs titled The D reams of a M appila Girl was published by Sage-Yoda

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FrancescaRecchiais an independent researcher and writer. She is the editor, creative director and a founding member of The Polis Project, Inc. Francesca lived and worked for a decade in A fghanistan where, among other things, was the A cting D irector of the Institute for A fghan A rts and A rchitecture and the Culture Specialist for the A ga Khan Trust for culture She is interested in the geopolitical dimension of cultural processes and in recent years has focused her research on the relation between (tangible and intangible) heritage, politics and creative practices in countries in conflict. H er practice-based work is grounded on an interdisciplinary approach that combines H eritage, D esign, V isual and Cultural Studies

Francesca was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Bartlett School of Planning, U niversity College of London, has a PhD in Cultural Studies at the O riental Institute in N aples and a M aster in V isual Cultures at Goldsmiths College, U niversity of London. She was a Research A ssociate at the Centre of South A sian Studies. SO A S, London, and is a V isiting Lecturer at U niversità Bocconi in M ilan. She directed the 4th A fghanistan Contemporary A rt Prize and Caravan serai Kabul in Karachi, a regional cultural festival bringing together cultural expressions from A fghanistan, India and Pakistan

She is the author ofH ow long can the moon be caged? Voices of Indian political prisoners(with Suchitra V ijayan),The Little Book of Kabul (with Lorenzo Tugnoli),Picnic in a M inefield and D evices for Political A ction(with a photo-essay by Leo N ovel)

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GitaJayakumar is an mind-body wellness therapist, life coach, and health and fitness expert based out of Chennai, India. She is EFT M aster Trainer, a Lifestyle Prescriptions M aster Trainer, BW RT A dvanced Practitioner, M ETA -H ealth M aster Trainer, a Bach Flower Therapy A dvanced Practitioner, A CE M aster Trainer, a Family and Karmic Constellations Practitioner, and a Psychology of Eating Practitioner She is the pioneer of a concept called BLISS Yoga, which involves the use of the ancient art of Yoga in combination with the core teachings of metaphysics to create a wholesome experience of comprehensive wellbeing in mind, body and soul. Gita practices a variety of other disciplines that include Theta H ealing, N LP, Picture Tapping, M atrix Re-imprinting, M atrix Birth Reimprinting, Root H ealing, PEAT,A CE M A STER, A ccess Bars, Reiki (Grandmaster), M agnified H ealing, Bach Flower Therapy, N utrition, Yoga (teacher), A romatherapy, A cupressure, A cupuncture, Crystal therapy, Colour therapy, Tarot Card Reading, Cartouche reading, TA RO T CA RD S, RU N ES, D owsing and H ypnosis. She has spoken at public forums that include the Rotary International, V ital Voices' Global M entoring W alks, the Commonwealth Youth Council, C3S (ranked 48 in the top 10 0 think tanks in the world), as well as corporate establishments that include the likes of PayPal, TCS Chennai and A nantaras Solutions Gita offers classes and healing sessions one on one, both, online and offline in person. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of the A rts, London, under the patronage of Q ueen Elizabeth II and A nne, Princess Royal.

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Dr,Hassan Abbas is a Professor of International Relations at the N ear East South A sia Strategic Studies Centre (N ESA ), at the N ational D efense U niversity in W ashington D C. H e also serves as a senior advisor at H arvard U niversity?s Program on Shiism and Global A ffairs at the W eather head Center for International A ffairs

H e held various fellowships including at H arvard Law School?s Islamic Legal Studies Program & Program on N egotiation(20 0 2-0 4); the Belfer Center for Science and International A ffairs at the H arvard?s Kennedy School of Government (20 0 5-0 9); A sia Society in N ew York as Bernard Schwartz fellow (20 0 9-20 11); and as a Carnegie fellow at the N ew A merica Foundation (20 16-20 18).

H is earlier publications include Pakistan?s N uclear Bomb: A Story of D efiance, D eterrence & D eviance (O xford U niversity Press, 20 18), The Taliban Revival (Yale U niversity Press, 20 15) & Pakistan?s D rift into Extremism: A llah, the A rmy and A merica?s W ar on Terror (M ESharpe & Routledge, 20 0 5) H e edited and authored various reports and monographs including The M yth and Reality of Iraq?s al-H ashd al-Shaabi (Popular M obilization Forces): A W ay Forward (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 20 17), ISIS Eyes Influence in Pakistan: Focus, Fears and Future Prospects (Jinnah Institute, Islamabad, 20 14) and Stabilizing Pakistan through Police Reforms (A sia Society, 20 11)

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H afsa Lodi is an A merican-M uslim journalist who has been covering fashion and culture for more than a decade She has a BA in journalism from Ryerson U niversity in Toronto and an M A in Islamic law from SO A S, U niversity of London. H er debut non-fiction book M odesty: A Fashion Paradox launched in 20 20 and explores the causes, controversies and key players of the global modest fashion movement from cultural, religious, political and feminist lensesH arper?s Bazaar U S called it ?a well-researched and tender portrait of the politics and people behind a movement ?

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Hammad Rind is a W elsh-Pakistani writer and translator H is debut novel ?Four D ervishes?(Seren Books, 20 21), a satire loosely based on a dastan by Indian poet A mir Khusro, was long-listed for the British Science Fiction A ssociation A ward. H e is the U rdu translator of N aveen Kishore?s debut poetry collection ?Knotted Grief? H ammad did a BA in English and Persian literature and law at the Punjab U niversity, Lahore, and an M A in film making at the Kingston U niversity, London H e is currently working on his second novel

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N ew D elhi-based M ember Judge in the D istrict Consumer D ispute Redressal Commission Dr Harshali Singh has written in several literary genres: poetry to fiction, columns to essays She is the contributing author in several anthologies and regularly writes for e-magazines She has written several books on women-centric issues like domestic violence, alienation, female foeticide, marital rape and women empowerment and independence She has been conferred with the Iconic A uthor A ward 20 22 by A esthetics International Lifestyle magazine. A fter working for more than fourteen years in the education sector as an academician, a teacher trainer, an administrator and a principal, she joined the Consumer Commission as a M ember Judge She has also taken a keen interest in helping people with special needs and follows her passion for helping children, and finds it most fulfilling and personally uplifting H er novels, ?A W indow to her D reams? , ?The A natomy of Choice?and the recently launched ?A Paradox of D reams?form part of eight books series, called the ?H aveli Series?published byReadomania. She has written several short stories in A nthologies that traverse varied genres from H istorical Fiction, mythology, horror, erotica and many more with reputed Traditional Publishing houses H er poems form part of several Poetry A nthologies like ?She- The Shakti? and ?Remnants of Loss? She has been on the organising committee ofKavya Kumbh, an International Trilingual Poetry Fest where her poems feature in the A nthology ?Confluence?and ?Shakti? She has won the prestigious ?W rite India - Season 2? , a short story contest organised by ?The Times of India?Group on Chitra Banerjee

D ivakaruni?s prompt The Times Group launched the book at the Times Lit Fest in D elhi and Bangalore amid much fanfare In 20 20 , A mitav Ghosh selected her short story in the Top 10 for his prompt She has also chaired discussions and has been part of various panels with eminent personalities in their chosen fields of W orld Peace, meditation, infertility, and social causes and stalwarts in writing A s a painter, she expresses herself and her observations of her surroundings in oil paintings, which have been exhibited in solo and group shows in India H abitat Center, N ew D elhi, and also in Gurugram.

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HudaFakhreddine?s work focuses on modernist movements or trends in A rabic poetry and their relationship to the A rabic literary tradition. She is interested in the role of the A rabic qa??da as a space for negotiating the foreign and the indigenous, the modern and the traditional, and its relationship to other poetic forms such as the free verse poem and the prose poem

She is the author of M etapoesis in the A rabic Tradition (Brill, 20 15) and The A rabic Prose Poem: Poetic Theory and Practice (Edinburgh U niversity Press, 20 21) She is the co-translator of Lighthouse for the D rowning (BO A editions, 20 17); The Sky That D enied M e (U niversity of Texas Press, 20 20 ); and Come Take a Gentle Stab: Selections from Salim Barakat (Seagull Books, 20 21) H er translations of modern A rabic poems have appeared in Banipal, W orld Literature Today, N imrod, A rabLit Q uarterly and A symptote among others. H er book of creative non-fiction titled Zaman saghir taht shams thaniya (A Small Time U nder a D ifferent Sun) was published by D ar al-N ahda, Beirut in 20 19

She is co-editor of M iddle Eastern Literatures and an editor of the Library of A rabic Literature.

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Isabel FargoCole grew up in N ew York City, received a BA from the U niversity of Chicago in 1995, and has lived in Berlin ever since as a writer and translator of authors such as W olfgang H ilbig, Franz Fühmann and A dalbert Stifter H er translation of H ilbig?s "O ld Rendering Plant" received the Kurt & H elen W olff Prize in 20 18 Since 20 0 5 she has published short fiction and essays in German H er debut novel "D ie grüne Grenze" (Edition N autilus, 20 17), was nominated for the Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair; her second novel, "D as Gift der Biene", was published by Edition N autilus in 20 19 and selected for the 20 19 LiteraTour N ord. In 20 22, "D ie Goldküste. Eine Irrfahrt" appeared in the ?N aturkunden?nature writing series at M atthes und Seitz

From 20 0 6-20 16, she co-edited no man?s land, an online magazine for new German literature in English In 20 13, she was a co-organizer of the initiative ?W riters A gainst M ass Surveillance.? Currently she organizes the initiative www.waldschaffen.de, which involves Berlin artists and writers in forestry projects.

Image:Dirk Skiba

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ItaMehrotra is a visual artist, researcher and educator based out of N ew D elhi. Ita creates non-fiction comics, illustrated text and animation, stemming most often from engagements within socio-political shifts around her, and in unravelling their particular histories H er work has been published and exhibited by thewirein , popula org, Zubaan Books, Goethe Institute, Yoda Press, A dA stra Comix, Fumetto Festival, among others H er book Shaheen Bagh, A Graphic Recollection (Yoda Press 20 21) brings together moments and memories from the anti-CA A protests over 20 19-20 20 across India. She is currently Creative D irector of A rtreach India.

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Jayson Iwen?s book Roze & Blud won the 20 20 M iller W illiams Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the N ational Poetry Series. H is other published books are D ick, Gnarly W ounds, A M omentary Jokebook, and Six Trips in Two D irections H e co-translated Jawdat Fakhreddine?s Lighthouse for the D rowning and Salim Barakat?s Come, Take a Gentle Stab H is poetry, prose, and translations have appeared in many journals, including Cream City Review, Fence, N ew A merican W riting, N imrod, Painted Bride Q uarterly, Pleiades, Tikkun, W ater~Stone Review, and W orld

Literature Today. H e lives and works in the Twin Ports.

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Jehan Bseiso is a Palestinian poet, researcher and aid worker H er co-authored book I Remember M y N ame is the Palestine Book A wards winner in the creative category (20 16) She is the co-editor of M aking M irrors: W riting/Righting By A nd For Refugees (20 19) Jehan has been working with M édecins sans Frontières/D octors W ithout Borders (M SF) since 20 0 8

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(W estland), H ave a Safe Journey (A maryllis, 20 17), Boo (Penguin, 20 17) and The Best A sian Speculative Fiction (Kitaab, 20 18) and City of Screams

(H alfbaked Beans, 20 19) H er articles and columns have appeared in the Times of India, Tehelka, D N A , Yowoto, Shethepeople, TheD ailyO , Scroll, Buzzfeed, N ew W oman, Femina, Verve, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Conde N ast Traveller, D B Post, The Telegraph, The A sian A ge, iD iva, People, Sakal Times and more She is a TED x speaker and was a mentor with V ital Voices Global M entoring W alk She was awarded the W omen A chievers A ward by Young

Environmentalists A ssociation in 20 13, in 20 17 she was shortlisted for the Femina W omen A wards for Literary Contribution The Indian Council of U N Relations (ICU N R) supported by the M inistry for W omen and Child D evelopment, Government of India, awarded her the International W omen?s D ay

A ward 20 18 for excellence in the field of writing She was named as one of the W omennovator 10 0 0

W omen of A sia 20 21 In 20 22, she was named amongst the 75 Iconic Indian women in STEA M by Red D ot Foundation and Beyond Black, in collaboration with the O ffice of the Principal Scientific A dvisor, Government of India, and British H igh Commission, N ew D elhi

Kiran Manral published her first book, The Reluctant D etective, in 20 11 She has published a total of 15 books across genres since H er books include romance and chicklit with O nce U pon A Crush (20 14), A ll A board (20 15), Saving M aya (20 17), The Kitty Party M urder (20 20 ); horror with The Face at the W indow (20 16), M ore Things in H eaven and Earth (20 21), scifi and horror with A ll Those W ho W ander (20 23), psychological thriller with M issing, Presumed D ead (20 18), and nonfiction with Karmic Kids (20 15), A Boy?s Guide to Growing U p (20 16), True Love Stories (20 17), 13 Steps to Bloody Good Parenting (20 19), Raising Children with H ope and W onder in Times of a Pandemic and Climate Change (20 20 ) and Rising-30 W omen W ho Changed India (20 22)

H er short stories have been published on Juggernaut, in magazines like Verve and Cosmopolitan, and have been part of anthologies like Chicken Soup for the Soul

H er novella, Saving M aya, was long listed for the 20 18 Saboteur A wards, U K, supported by the A rts Council England H er novels, The Face at the W indow and M issing, Presumed D ead were both long listed for JioM A M I W ord to Screen The Face at the W indow was showcased at the Singapore South A sia Film Festival The Kitty Party M urder was shortlisted for Popular Choice at the JK Papers Times of India

A utH ER awards 20 21

H er books are in prestigious libraries around the world like the Columbia U niversity Library (N Y), Library of Congress (W ashington D C), U niversity of Chicago Library, D uke U niversity Library, U niversity of N orth Carolina, U niversity of Pennsylvania, N ational Library of W ales, A uckland Libraries, D alat U niversity (V ietnam), Libris (Stockholm) and M arburg U niversity (Germany) amongst others

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Kirthi Jayakumar is a lawyer, feminist researcher, and W PS practitioner She founded and runs The Gender Security Project, which works on the W PS A genda and Feminist Foreign Policy through research, reportage, and documentation She obtained her M A in Peace and Conflict Studies at CTPSR, Coventry U niversity, and previously at U PEA CE, Costa Rica She is a member of the W orking Group for the Every W oman Treaty and part of the A dvisory W orking Group for the Beijing+25 process.

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LamiyaSami is a final year Ph D student at the U niversity of Strathclyde, where she is researching South A sian fiction through the lens of Posthumanism. W ith a focus on exploring the multiple themes of posthumanism, her work aims to provide valuable insight into the ways in which contemporary South A sian fiction engages with the challenges posed by the A nthropoceneIn addition to her Ph D studies, she is working as a Graduate Tutor at the U niversity of Strathclyde She is also an active participant in a range of platforms, where she engages in discussions and ideation around posthuman realities W ith a passion for fiction and posthumanism, she aims to expand her knowledge and understanding of the complexities and challenges of the A nthropocene. Through her experience in research and teaching, Lamiya?s goal is to inspire others to critically engage with the challenges and opportunities of the posthuman era.

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LeilaAboulela is the first-ever winner of the Caine Prize for A frican W riting N ominated three times for the O range Prize (now the W omen?s Prize for Fiction), she is the author of numerous novels, including Bird Summons, The Kindness of Enemies, The Translator, a N ew York Times

N otable Book of the Year, M inaret and Lyrics

A lley, which was Fiction W inner of the Scottish Book A wards H er collection of short stories

Elsewhere, H ome won the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year. Leila?s work has been translated into fifteen languages, and her plays The Insider, The M ystic Life and others were broadcast on BBC Radio She grew up in Khartoum, Sudan, and now lives in A berdeen, Scotland

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Mai Al-Nakib is author of the novel A n U nlasting H ome and the short story collection The H idden Light of O bjects, winner of the Edinburgh International Book Festival?s First Book A ward in 20 14 H er fiction has been published in N inth Letter,The First Line, A fter the Pause, and The M arkaz Review. H er essays have appeared in W orld Literature Today, BLA RB: Blog of the LA Review of Books, and the BBC W orld Service, among others. She is associate professor of English and comparative literature at Kuwait U niversity

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Mehr Husain is a British-Pakistani journalist and founder of independent publishing house Zuka Books ?a groundbreaking organization as it not only focuses on sustainable publishing but is the first ?in Pakistan ?if not the region to talk about issues of climate change and sustainability vis-à-vis the publishing landscape A uthor of ?Pakistan: A Fashionable H istory? , she has worked in different roles in the media industry; as an A ssistant Editor at Good Times (GT) magazine and as a columnist for India?s M ail Today where her column ?The Lahore Log?also appeared in The D aily M ail/M ailO nline. M ehr?s commentary has appeared in The Economist?s 1843, The Times of London, The D iplomat, India?s M ail Today, The D aily M ail/M ailO nline, Libas, The Friday Times, H erald, Pakistan Today, The N ews, The N ation and Pakistan Link She was also the Editor for ?M ultan: A Spiritual Legacy?which was presented to H M Q ueen Elizabeth in 20 13 In 20 18 she founded ZU KA , a social enterprise and set up ZU KA BO O KS in 20 20 M ehr holds a M Sc in A sian Politics from SO A S, U niversity of London and a BSc in Politics with Business M anagement (H ons.) from Q ueen M ary, U niversity of London. She was also accepted into an M Phil in South A sian Studies at St Edmunds College, Cambridge She is currently working as a N ew Editor of N aya D aur and The Friday Times Pakistan.

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Mehr Tarar is a coulmnist, writer and authors of the book D o W e N ot Bleed?

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MeenaKandasamy is an anti-caste activist, poet, novelist and translator. H er writing aims to deconstruct trauma and violence, while spotlighting the militant resistance against caste, gender, and ethnic oppressions She explores this in her poetry and prose, most notably in her books of poems such asTouch(20 0 6) andM s M ilitancy(20 10 ), as well as her three novels,The Gypsy Goddess(20 14),W hen I H it You(20 17), andExquisite Cadavers(20 19). H er latest work is a collection of essays,The O rders W ere to Rape You: Tamil Tigresses in the Eelam Struggle(20 21). H er novels have been shortlisted for the W omen?s Prize for Fiction, the International D ylan Thomas Prize, the Jhalak Prize and the H indu Lit Prize

She has been a fellow of the U niversity of Iowa'sInternational W riting Program(20 0 9), aCharles W allace India Trust Fellowat the U niversity of Kent (20 11) and a fellow of the Berlin-based Junge A kademie (A dK). In 20 22, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), U nited Kingdom

A ctivism is at the heart of her literary work; she has translated several political texts from Tamil to English, and previously held an editorial role atThe D alit, an alternative magazine She holds a PhD in sociolinguistics H er op-eds and essays have appeared inThe W hite Review, Guernica, The

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Minaal Maan is a young author and freelance journalist from Pakistan H er novel, O ur Tainted Souls is available on A mazon, Barnes& N oble as well as major bookstores across Pakistan and has stellar reviews on Goodreads It has also been reviewed by The Financial D aily, Bol N ews and D aily Times. H er work has also appeared in publications such as The Perspective M agazine, The D esi Collective and The Fiction Project, and she also writes regularly for Bol N ews, The Friday Times, The N ews International and D aily Times. M inaal mostly writes on issues of human rights and literature M inaal has also launched her own online magazine, The Pakistan Chronicle, @thepakistanchronicle on Instagram, that focusses on fostering young emerging voices and encourages inclusivity She enjoys writing stories about strong female leads and is drawn to the contemporary fiction and fantasy genres. She can be reached @M inaalM aan on Twitter and Instagram orminaalmohsin@hotmail com

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Minhaj Ahmed Rafi graduated from the N ational College of A rts in Lahore H as been working in the media and arts for over a decade now

Currently working for a brand as D esign Lead and as D esign D irector for Pakistan

Standard(previously known as N ewsweek Pakistan). and he also did cover illustrations for N ewsweek Europe and Latin A merica, H e is also the design consultant for the Lahore Literary Festival Recently his illustrations were displayed at Jaipur A rt Book depot alongside 36 other top artists with TH P D aak Edition 1. In 20 19 he was appointed the sole A rt D irector for Pakistan?s first non-fiction book about Pakistan?s fashion industry, ?Pakistan: A Fashionable H istory? H e is the Recipient of H onourable mention at prestigious A D A A wards for his fashion book, he designed the book cover for Sherry Rehman's "W O M A N SPLA IN IN G", and the most recently did the cover illustration and layout for the book "U LJH A GH A M "

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MohuaChinappais an author, podcaster, voice-over artist and branding specialist. She has over 15+ years in leadership positions as a Public Relations/Corporate Communications specialist

In her earlier stint as the national head of GCI, the public relations division of The Grey W orldwide A dvertising Group, she has been responsible for bringing in business and creating campaigns for the largest brands in India and the international market W ith her rich experience in other communications firms like Brandcomm, H CL, ITC and Genesis PR, she has led teams towards successful brand campaigns

M ohua has a 360 -degree experience in the entire spectrum of managing a brand In 20 18, she embarked on a new journey as a writer She began a blog out of a café called M oodyM o She writes from her heart as her blogs and articles extensively focus on brands that endorse gender equality, nostalgia, arts and crafts of India

She now hosts an extremely successful podcast called The M ohua Show which is available on multiple platforms In this space, she interviews artists, entrepreneurs and individuals who are striving to create economic and social change ?Imandari se?

M ohua is currently on an entrepreneurial journey as a believer H er endeavour is to give opportunities to individuals to share their stories to inspire change and create a platform for the unheard voices that need recognition and validation

Speaker

Moni Mohsin was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan She started her writing career at The Friday Times, Pakistan?s first independent weekly, where she served as the Features Editor. She is now a freelance journalist and author of three novels, the prize winning The End of Innocence, Tender H ooks and The Impeccable Integrity of Ruby R. H er best selling collection of satirical columns, The D airy of a Social Butterfly and The Return of the Butterfly, are based on her long running column for The Friday Times.

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MonikaBhatkhande is the author-illustrator of a middle-grade adventure book, "In the W oof of Time"

She enjoys writing children's fiction, and can usually be caught in the company of children for whom she plays "Bookclub A untie"

In the corporate world, her forte lies in strategic communications

M onika joined A riston Capital, a financial services company, at its nascent stage and has been instrumental in growing the company She is also co-founder of Resolve D iagnostics, a biotech firm. A t Resolve, M onika steps in for firefighting and critical ideation

Prior to A riston, M onika has worked both in the European U nion and in India in the field of Public A ffairs and PR She has handled communication strategies and investor relations for a number of pharma and healthcare majors.

A fter graduating with honours in Economics from St. Xavier's (M umbai U niversity), she has M astered in Business Communications in Brussels

Speaker

NaimaRashid is an author, poet and translator

H er published and forthcoming books include Sum of W orlds (Yoda Press, 20 23-20 24), N aulakhi

Kothi (Penguin Random H ouse India

20 23-20 24), Chicanes (Les Fugitives, 20 23) and D efiance of the Rose(O xford U niversity Press, 20 19) H er writings have been widely published in journals of repute, including A symptote, The Scores, W ild Court, among others. H er work was longlisted for N ational Poetry Competition 20 19 and Best Small Fictions 20 22. She is a collaborator with the U K-based translation collective, Shadow H eroes, which teaches young people to embrace all aspects of their linguistic and cultural heritage

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Namrata is the editor ofKitaab, a South A sian literary magazine based in Singapore. Since 20 18, she also runs a creative agency called Keemiya Creatives where she works with authors and publishing houses in different capacities

She is a published author who enjoys writing stories and think-pieces on travel, relationships, and gender A U EA alumnus, she has studied travel writing at the U niversity of Sydney H er short stories have been a part of various anthologies She has also published two short story collections of her own along with two solo titles as well Currently, she is working on her debut novel N amrata is also an independent editor and a book reviewer H er writings can be found on various sites and magazines like the A sian Review of Books, Contemporary South A sia Journal of King?s College-London, M ad in A sia, The Friday Times, D aily Star, The Scroll, Feminism in India, The Brown O rient Journal, Inkspire Journal, M oonlight Journal, The Same, Chronic Pain India and Cafe D issensus among others

Twitter:www.twitter.com/privytrifles

W ebsite:www.keemiyacreatives.com

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NamitaWaikar is the author of the novelThe Long M arch She is co-founder and managing editor at the People?s A rchive of Rural India (PA RI), where she also writes for and anchors the Grindmill Songs Project. A t present she is working on a non-fiction book on the farmers?protests, forthcoming with M elbourne U niversity Publishing. She is a partner in a chemistry databases firm in Pune, a culmination of her work of about 20 years as a biochemist and a software project manager

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Naveen Kishore,is publisher and founder of Seagull Books in Kolkata, India. A theater practitioner, N aveen established Seagull Books as a response to the growing need for an Indian publishing house for theatre and other arts. A mong the many accolades, recognition and awards, he received 20 21W ords W ithout Borders O ttaway A ward for the Promotion of International Literature in addition to being made a Chevalier de l'ordre des A rts et des Lettres (20 14) by the government of France and received the Goethe M edal from the Federal Republic of Germany (20 13)

Last year his immense book of poems, published by Speaking Tiger, came out and followed by M other M useQ uintet in M arch this year.

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NilanjanaBhowmick is the co-editor of the Gender and D evelopment Journal She is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, writing coach, media mentor and strategist, and a gender, equality and safe workplaces advocate, whose writing focuses on gender through the intersectional lens H er work on gender and social justice has been awarded by the European Commission and the Institute of D evelopment Studies (ID S) in the U K. She was featured by the N ational Geographic M agazine in their iconic 20 19 W omen of Impact issue and is the author of a soon?to?be?published book ?The Lies O ur M others Told U s?that examines gender inequalities inside India?s middle-class homes

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Osman Haneef is the author of several short stories and the novel,The Verdict, which won the U BL Literary A ward. H e studied creative writing at Yale, Stanford, Colby, Curtis Brown Creative, and the Faber A cademy H is writing has appeared in D awn, Scroll India, Kitaab, the A leph Review, and the Yale Journal of International A ffairs. H is work won the Frank A llen Bullock Prize for creative writing at the U niversity of O xford, and was shortlisted for the PFC-V O W Book A wards

20 21, and the KLF Getz Pharma Prize For Fiction

20 22 H e lives with his family between the U K and Pakistan

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Rachel Thomas is an Indian skydiver She was the first Indian woman to skydive from 7,0 0 0 ft over the N orth Pole on 20 A pril 20 0 2, to commemorate 150 years of the Indian Railways

D uring the N orth Pole expedition she stayed on the ice for six days in - 45-55 °C temperatureA former employee of Indian Railways, she was the first woman to compete for India in a skydiving competition in 1987 and has the record of being the first Indian female to skydive over the N orth Pole in 20 0 2 She completed 650 jumps in 18 countries during her career, since her first jump in 1979 A winner of the N ational A dventure Sports

A ward,she was honored again by the Government of India, again in 20 0 5, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri

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RadhikaMairaTabrezis an Indian writer, editor, Learning & D evelopment specialist, radio show host, andTedxspeaker

H er debut novelIn The Light O f D arknesswon the much-coveted M use India ?Satish Verma Young W riter A ward in 20 16 H er second novella,The Emancipation of Farzana Siddiqui, was released in early 20 19 to rave reviews. Radhika's stories and essays have appeared in over a dozen anthologies; the latest one being the first print edition ofthe other side of hope- an international collection of works by immigrants and refugees, supported by the A rts Council, U K, and the U niversity of Leeds

She was also a member of the Kalam Library Project, an initiative that aims at putting a free library within the reach of the village and small-town children.

Radhika works with the Kamloops Film Society, and is the first Indian to be on the board of the prestigious W estern Canada Theatre She hosts a weekly show on CFBX (the alternative radio station of Kamloops), called N ew In The Loops, focusing on new immigrant experiences in Kamloops in particular, and in Canada in general. She was commissioned as an influencer by Tourism Kamloops, to write a series of blog articles for their website, highlighting Kamloops as a destination of choice for potential immigrants to Canada She also volunteers for Kamloops Sexual A ssault Counselling Center and PitStop She is an active advocate of mental health and supports many organizations and groups in that field of work

Speaker

RukhsanaYasmin is an award-winning editor and a Bookseller Rising Star She has worked at independent publishers Saqi, Profile, Serpent?s Tail and Jacaranda Books H er freelance projects include editorial development and copy-editing services in fiction and nonfiction for several organisations, including V irago, Penguin, H arperCollins and Simon & Schuster. She is a former deputy editor ofW asafiriand Project O fficer at Commonwealth W riters. Rukhsana is a literary agent, most recently associate literary agent at The Good Literary A gency and a trustee of The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE)

She lives in London and is currently working on her own life writing.

www thegoodliteraryagency org/about/rukhsana/ rukhsanay@gmail.com

t @rukhsana yasmin

Speaker

Rubab Mehdi is former Regional Commissioner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan She is a British-Pakistani corporate lawyer, interfaith leader and a human-rights campaigner. She was the Chief European coordinator / spokesperson, M inistry of H uman Rights Pakistan, and helped formulate several federal laws She was a panelist for an online discussion hosted by Sapan (Southasia Peace A ction N etwork) titled 'Celebrating Love: Beyond Borders and Boundaries' on 26 February 20 23

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SabaKarim Khan is an author, award-winning documentary filmmaker and educator, who read Social A nthropology at the U niversity of O xford and works at N YU A bu D habi Khan?s debut novel, Skyfall, was published by Bloomsbury and she is a contributor to the recently launched anthology, W ays of Being: Creative N on-fiction by Pakistani W omen She is a columnist for Khaleej Times and her writing, interviews and talks have appeared in The Guardian, BBC, The Independent, the Emirates Literature Festival, Lahore Literary Festival, N YU A D Institute, Gulf N ews, The N ational, W asafiri, H uff Post, Verso, LU M S, Think Progress, D A W N , The Friday Times and Express Tribune. Khan?s doc-film, Concrete D reams: Some Roads Lead H ome, produced by the D oha Film Institute (D FI), secured official selections and won awards at film festivals in N YC, Paris, Berlin, Toronto, U SA , Sweden and India Before joining the A cademy, Saba worked as Country M arketing and Public A ffairs H ead at Citigroup Born in Karachi, she now lives in A bu D habi with her husband and two daughters

Saba Karim Khan can be contacted athttps://sabakarimkhan com/

Speaker

SamyaArif - O CEÁ is an internationally featured visual artist, illustrator and graphic designer H er practice focuses on observations of social and cultural paradigms from a woman's perspective, embodying womxn and the spaces they inhabit

A fter graduating from the Indus Valley School of A rt & A rchitecture in Communication D esign, she has created visuals for various publications, music artists, book covers, and film posters

Samya has been featured in The N ew York Times, the BBC, V ice, CBC, The Fader and Pitchfork H er projects include clients such as Penguin Books, H arperCollins, M acmillan Publishers, A l Jazeera, the U S Embassy in N epal, British Council, N PR and Google She has been a regular illustrator at Pakistan?s renowned H erald magazine. H er work has been exhibited in Pakistan, India, U A E, England, U S, Belgium and Spain Samya currently lives and works in Karachi, Pakistan and is a part-time professor at her alma mater.

Speaker

Shahd Alshammari teaches literature and holds a PH D in English from the U niversity of Kent, Canterbury She has served as a Judge for literary prizes in the past H er works include Literary M adness in British, Postcolonial,and Bedouin W omen's W riting, N otes on the Flesh,andH ead A bove W ater: Reflections on Illness H er research areas include disability studies and women's studies.

Speaker

Safinah Danish Elahi is a lawyer, novelist and a poet She has authored two books, a collection of poetry by the name,The U nbridled Romance of Love and Painand the novel,Eye on the Prize. H er next novel,The Idle Stance of the Tippler Pigeon, is due to launch in July 20 23 by the N eem Tree Press U K She is also the founder of Reverie Publishers which aims to guide the country?s anglophone emerging writers She was official nomination from Pakistan for the prestigious International W riters? Fall Residency 20 22 at the U niversity of Iowa where she participated as a fellow of the program.

Speaker

SaschaA Akhtar is an A CE supported writer, translator and educator O ver a span of 20 years she has published six poetry collections and a collection of short fictions set in Pakistan entitledO f N ecessity & W anting(20 20 ,The 87 Press) A khtar has the distinction of being one of a handful of Pakistani women writing in English to be published in the experimental stream of U .K. poetries A Poetry School London tutor, herworkis widely anthologised andhas been translatedinto A rmenian, Portuguese, Galician, Russian, D utch and Polish. H er translations of the work of writer H ijab Imtiaz(190 8-1999), the first female pilot in the Subcontinent will be published by O xford U niversity Press, India in July 20 22

Speaker

Sehyr Mirza is a journalist who has used her voice to advocate for women?s equality, peace and security H er campaign against hate speech in internet spaces has raised awareness for the communalities of the perceptions of ordinary citizens on complex peace contexts

Sehyr M irza is also the co-founder of the Society for A dvancement of M akers, A rts and Justice (SA M A A J), an organization that uses mass mixed media and communications to advocate for issues around conflict, justice and gender

Speaker

Shalini 'Mullick's book Stars from the Borderless Sea (20 22) was longlisted for the A uther A wards 20 23 (D ebutcategory) The book is an unconventional, empathetic look at the most universal human emotion ?love. The book has been featured on many websites and platforms like Kitaab org and W omen?s W eb

Shalini was awarded a Jury A ppreciation Citation at the U N FPA Laadli M edia and A dvertising

A wards for Gender Sensitivity (20 22)

H er stories on women?s identity have won many short story contests and two O range Flower awards (Fiction, 20 22 and LGBTQ issues, 20 21) Five of her short stories have found a home in 3 anthologies A humorous short story was selected for the Juggernaut Selects program (20 20 ) She is a columnist and panellist for platforms like eShe, Golden D oor D ialogues, Beyond the Box, W omen?s W eb, A nanke and Incredible W omen of India Shalini is a practising doctor, specialising in pathology. She is based in Gurgaon, india

Speaker

D r Sofia Rehman is an independent scholar specialising in Islam and Gender, an author, and educator She is also a publisher at N eem Tree Press. She is the founder and co-ordinator of Leeds Lit Book Club which is now in its 7th year. D uring the global pandemic she launched the Islam and Gender read-alongs in which she facilitates readings of academic texts penned by M uslim female scholars in conversation with a global virtual audience and has recently been featured by both Vogue A rabia and Refinery29 She is a contributor to M apping Faith: Theologies of M igration edited by Lia Shimada and to Cut From the Same Cloth? Edited by Sabeena A khtar She has publications of her own due out with O xford U niversity Press and Kube Publications. You can connect with her on her Instagram @Sofia reading where she talks about all things related to books, faith and academia

H er new book, published by Kube Publishing, titled A Treasury of 'A 'ishah recently came out

Speaker

SadhnaPrasad (akaSadh Press) is a multi disciplinary artist and storyteller currently based in M umbai, India.

Through her practice , she explores themes of relativity, education, feminine power, the local and everyday through a cultural context and alternate lens She has been a practising artist for the last ten years and was the cofounder, A rt D irector and lead artist with the A ravani A rt Project for six years, until July 20 22 H er work is In a constant state of experimentation and evolving and she is currently exploring senses, textures and routines and working towards being a mix of multiple disciplines and mediums relevant in a local and global landscape

Speaker

D r Shantha mohan is an Executive In Residence, Innovation Lab at Carnegie M ellon U niversity's Integrated Innovation Institute, where she mentors and guides students

Dr.ShanthaMohan is a global software engineering leader and entrepreneur with a proven track record of growing and mentoring technical teams and generating customer RO I across the globe Retail Solutions Inc., the company she co-founded, is a leader in retail analytics in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) domain She ran product development for the company and was responsible for scaling the product development team worldwide and delivering multiple analytic applications Before Retail Solutions, Shantha had over 20 years of experience focusing on mission-critical systems to support semiconductor and other high-value-added manufacturing A t Consilium, now part of A pplied M aterials, she managed the development of three generations of manufacturing execution systems. Such software systems are mission-critical, highly scalable, and highly available, and companies such as Intel and Infineon depend upon them for their manufacturing.

O utside CM U , Shantha is a mentor of start-ups and students from her alma mater. She provides career advice to new graduates and those making career transitions She is a member and volunteer of the Society of W omen Engineers (SW E) Shantha is also a member of The Carnegie M ellon W omen's A ssociation (CM WA ) and is active in the Barbara Smith W omen's M entoring Program H er book?Roots and W ings?Inspiring stories of Indian W omen in Engineering?was published in 20 18 She co-authored?D emystifying A I for The Enterprise,?published in 20 21 H er most recent book on leadership,?Leadership Lessons W ith The Beatles,?was published in M ay 20 22 by Routledge Press/Taylor & Francis.

Speaker

Shazaf Fatimais the mother of three children and author of two novels She is currently working on her third novel to even things out. She is exhausted.

Speaker

Sheema Kermaniis a Pakistani dancer and social activist. She is the founder of Tehrik-e-N iswan Cultural A ction Group (W omen's M ovement) She is also an exponent of Bharat anatyam dance She is also a renowned classical dancer, choreographer, dance guru, theatre practitioner, performer, director, producer, and TV actor based in Karachi, Pakistan She advocates on culture,women's rights, and peace issues.

H er pioneering contribution to the promotion of culture and theatrical performances in Pakistan since 1978 have led to international acclaim (W ikipedia)

Speaker

SheenaChohan started with 5 years of theatre and has played the lead in 5 consecutive feature films, 3 of which were with N ational A ward winning directors.

Sheena says: ?I love collaborating with directors to create characters - my favourite thing is to deeply research characters and present my ideas to my director, to help their vision come to life?

Sheena made her acting debut in an action thriller opposite M alayalam mega-star M ammootty, went on to star in two Bengali legend Buddhadeb D as Gupta productions, and was nominated for the Best A ctress alongside Kiera Knightley for M ustafa Farooki's A nt Story, which was acquired by N etflix

Sheena most recently appeared as M adhuri D ixit's public relations manager on The Fame Game and as a journalist on City of D reams' second season.

She will soon be seen playing a Christian girl opposite Kajol on The Good W ife and is currently shooting a feature where she plays the lead opposite Subodh Bhave, directed by A ditya O m

Speaker

SaraNaveed is the author of four books; U ndying A ffinity, O ur Story Ends H ere, A ll O f M y H eart, and The W orld Between U s. A ll of them have been published by Penguin Random H ouse India She has done her primary education from Ibn Sina English H igh School, Sharjah and then matriculation from Convent of Jesus and M ary. Sialkot Later, she went on to complete her Bachelors in business and got her M asters degree in Banking and Finance from U M T, Lahore Being a writer has always been her dream. She earnestly hopes people appreciate her writing?an asset she deeply covets A part from writing fiction novels, she is working as a content head at a leading software firm. Currently, she is editing her fifth book and working on her sixth romance novel simultaneously

Speaker

ShrayanaBhattacharya trained in development economics at D elhi U niversity and the H arvard Kennedy School Since 20 0 6, she has worked on research projects with the Institute of Social Studies Trust, SEWA and Centre for Policy Research on gender and labour A t present, she is a Senior Economist at the W orld Bank H er first book of non-fiction D esperately Seeking Shah Rukh : India's Lonely Young W omen and the Search for Intimacy and Independence was published by H arperCollins India in N ovember 20 21and by Liberty Books in Pakistan in A ugust 20 22. Shrayana recently won the A tta Galatta BLF Book Prize for Best N on Fiction for 20 22. She has also won the Times of India JK Paper A utH er Prize for Best N on-Fiction A uthor for 20 22 and the SKO CH Economic Forum Prize for literature

Speaker

Sirah Haq is a London based script consultant, screenwriter and creative producer who has worked on feature film projects in A ustralia, Britain and Pakistan She specialized in Script D evelopment for Features from the prestigious N ational Film and Television School, London and also holds a BA (H ons) in Film from Brunel U niversity, London and a M asters in English Literature from Kinnaird College, Lahore. H er most recent feature as script consultant: British Indie horror ?N efarious?

(U K, 20 19) has been making waves on the international film festival circuit and she is currently in development with three of her own features as screenwriter and producer. She has worked in TV development in Pakistan for many years and has taught screenwriting at SZA BIST and Indus Valley School of A rt and A rchitecture in Karachi

Speaker

Gold Chakra and Karmaveer Puraskaar for Social Change and Justice, amongst other awards, Smita Bharti is a Rotary Global Peace Fellow

Through her work Smita suggests alternate solutions of restorative and transformative justice for the practice of everyday equality She seeks to discover ways to express the effects of structural violence on ordinary citizens, explore ways to go beyond the experience of oppression and become spect-actors Through corporate theatre she escalates common experiences into opportunities for building of emotional competencies. This aspect of her work creates immersive experiences for understanding and practicing of diversity, inclusion and equality

SmitaBharti is the Executive D irector/President of Sakshi, a rights-based N GO and the Programme D irector of The Rakshin Project by Sakshi, a Youth-led movement across 40 ,0 0 0 Colleges Pan-India to prevent, prohibit and resolve Child Sexual A buse She is a recognized trainer for Prevention of W orkplace Sexual H arassment, and Judicial Education for Gender Equality within the Region. She has substantial experience as a senior facilitator for capacity building workshops with adults, adolescents, and children, with groups across social strata ranging from the judiciary to under trials, corporate to grass-root communities. She has been published both as a poet and playwright and as a research fellow of W ISCO M and K.K. Birla Foundation. A n award-winning playwright, creative director, theatre and multi-media practitioner, Smita has acted in, directed, written, and translated more than thirty plays and books. A recipient of the Karmaveer

She has worked extensively in prisons with under trials and convicts O utside the prisons, her workshop participants include opinion and policy makers, as well as survivors of domestic violence and child sexual abuse. She uses storytelling and theatre as the medium of intervention She translates her extensive experience as a social activist into performance art through theatre, multimedia productions and films. She engages people in the art of storytelling and role playing that enable re-scripting of personal narratives to arrive at decisions that lead to responsible actions for building an accountable self. She indicates ways in which theatre can be a critical tool for guiding people towards such a point This has implications for critical pedagogy, and transformative learning, as her work with schools, colleges, judiciary and corporates has amply demonstrated

Speaker

SmitaDasJain is a writer by passion and writes every day. Samples of her writing are visible in her home office, her sunny terrace garden, her husband?s car, and the kitchen napkins H er debut short story collectionA Slice of Lifewas named among India?s top three fiction works by W ritefluence, and her debut novelA Price to Lovefound a mention in the Top 50 books of 20 22 by D elhi W ire She is also the first-prize winner of the prestigious Bharat A ward for Literature, 20 23 for her short story ?Purchased Love.?Smita was the only A sian to be named in the Top 20 flash fiction winners list in the Spring 20 22 contest of the prestigious U S-based W omen O n W riting (W O W !) magazine for women writers, and her award-winning short stories have beenfeatured in prominent national and international anthologies around the globeShe was also shortlisted for the W omen?s W eb O range Flower A wards 20 22 and 20 23 for her writing

O utside the world of writing, Smita is an Executive Coach and Personal Empowerment Life Coach enabling people to get better at what they do, a TED x speaker, a keynote speaker at prestigious corporate conferences and a guest columnist on personal development matters for leading magazines and platforms. Smita lives with her rockstar husband and adorable thirteen-year-old daughter in Gurugram, India.

Speaker

SulagnaMukhopadhyay completed her M asters in Comparative Literature from JU and English Literature from Jodhpur N ational U niversity. She has completed German Language Course till C1 from Goethe-Institut/M ax M ueller Bhavan

Kolkata Sulagna teaches in the primary

D epartment of an English -medium private school, South Point School and German Language Trainer at JU She is also translator She translates from German to Bengali. Three of her translated books have got published from JU ( Kathrin Schmidt's poems :N odi o D ebdut), a novel (Isabel Fargo Cole's novel : Sobuj Simana) and a collection of short stories from Rritobak( M arkus Kirchhofer's book: Kanta) Currently she is working on Christa

W olf's novel D er geteilte H immel, M elinda N adj

A bonji's novel Tauben fliegen auf, H annah

A hrendt's D ie Freiheit Frei Zu Sein, Sun Tzu's The

A rt of W ar She has learnt Bharatnatyam, the Indian Classical D ance form from southern India and was also a dance critic for The Telegraph for 10 consecutive years. She has participated as an actor in a Bengali theatre group Sangbarta between 1985 and 1993.

Speaker

Soniah Kamal is an award winning novelist, essayist, public speaker. H er work has appeared in critically acclaimed anthologies and publications including The N ew York Times, The Guardian, The N ormal School, Buzzfeed, TED X stage, The Georgia Review, The Bitter Southerner, Catapult and more Soniah novel, U nmarriageable: Pride & Prejudice in Pakistan is featured on PBS Books, Publishers W eekly hails it a ?must read?and Shelf A wareness has said that ?If Jane A usten lived in modern-day Pakistan, this is the version of Pride and Prejudice she might have written?A ccolades for U nmarriageable include a Financial Times Readers?Best Book, a People?s M agazine pick, an N PR Code Switch and N ew York Public Library Summer Read Pick,a Library Reads pick, a?Books A llGeorgians Should Read,?a Georgia A uthor of the Year for Literary Fiction nominee, is shortlisted for the 20 20 Townsend A ward for Fiction, and more H er social media handle is @soniahkamal

Speaker

SuchitraVijayan is an A merican writer, essayist, researcher and photographer working across oral history, state violence, and visual storytelling Born and raised in M adras, India, she is the author of the critically acclaimed book M idnight's Borders: A People's H istory of M odern India (M elville H ouse, N ew York).H er forthcoming book,H ow Long Can the M oon Be Caged?: Voices of Indian Political Prisoners, co-authored with Francesca Recchia, is a powerful look at authoritarian India through the experiences of political prisoners

H er essays, photographs, and interviews have appeared in The W ashington Post, GQ , The N ation, The Boston Review, Foreign Policy, Lit H ub, Rumpus, Electric Literature, N PR, N BC, PEN A merica and BBC. A s an attorney, she previously worked for the U nited N ations war crimes tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda before co-founding the Resettlement Legal A id Project in Cairo, which gives legal aid to Iraqi refugees She is the founder and executive director of the Polis Project, co-founder of the Radical Books Collective, and teaches at N YU Gallatin

Speaker

Taiba A bbas is an author, teacher, and the founder of À la Books and A uthors She is the co-author of the recently published The N ight In H er H air a collection of fictional retellings of legends and folk tales from the subcontinent. Born in Pakistan, she grew up in Italy, and holds a M aster's degree in Comparative Literature from SO A S, U niversity of London H er teaching career spans over a decade, having taught courses in English literature, Film, Italian, and Cultural studies at universities and schools in Lahore and Islamabad

Speaker

Tamreez Inam is a writer and literary curator working as the A ssistant Festival D irector and H ead of Programming at the Emirates Literature Foundation She is responsible for the curation and delivery of the Emirates Litfest, the A rab world's largest literary festival

Previously, she worked for a decade in international development, trade and investment consulting with organisations such as O CO Global, the British Embassy in D ubai, O xfam and the U nited N ations She has a Joint H onours D egree in International D evelopment and Political Science from M cGill U niversity and a M asters degree in Global Governance & D iplomacy from the U niversity of O xford. Tamreez lives in D ubai with her husband, son and their cat M ilo.

Speaker

Tasneem Abdur-Rashid is a British Bengali writer born and raised in London A mother of two, Tasneem has worked across media, PR and communications for over 15 years, in the U K and in the M iddle East She holds a BA and M A in Creative W riting, and her debut rom-com, Finding M r Perfectly Fine, was published by Bonnier/Zaffre in July 20 22 as part of a two-book publishing deal. Back in 20 11, Tasneem was the anonymous writer behind the bestselling novel D esperate in D ubai, published by Penguin Random H ouse India.

Tasneem is also the co-host of the award-winning podcast, N ot A nother M um Pod, which empowers women who feel voiceless with a platform to share their stories. She recently won the coveted SH E A wards award for A rts and Culture 20 23 for her commitment towards bringing underrepresented voices to the fore

Throughout her childhood, teenage and young adult years, Tasneem struggled to find books that contained characters that she could relate to. A s a visible M uslim growing up in N orth London, the otherness she experienced in day-to-day life followed her home and continued in the books she read Later, the books she did come across that featured M uslims or South A sians, were always negative, portraying M uslim and A sian women as victims or extremists

Today, Tasneem hopes to bring diversity to publishing by creating stories that explore underrepresented cultures with sensitivity

Through her writing, she hopes to help create a world where everyone ?children and adults - can see themselves in the books that they read

Speaker

Straddling the worlds of journalism, academics and activism, Urmi Chanda has written on religion, Indian history and mythology as an independent journalist for over 13 years She has been a researcher for non-fiction TV shows and has given talks on various platforms, including TED x A s a knowledge consultant, she has worked on several cultural projects, including in the museum and non-profit sector.

U rmi is a volunteer at Sapan (Southasia Peace

A ction N etwork), a global coalition of peace activists and organisations working towards freedom of trade, travel and tourism in South A sia

(Source: eShe)

Speaker

Zain Saeed is the author of the novels "Little A merica", winner of the 20 22 KLF Fiction award, and "The Year of Sound and H eat" H e earned his M FA from the U niversity of Texas at A ustin H is work has appeared in several places, includingGlimmer Train, The H indu BL ink, the Kenyon Review,and theFreiburg Review H e lives in Karachi, where he teaches literature and creative writing at H abib U niversity.

Speaker

Ushah Kazi is a Pakistani-Canadian writer and content creator She has written extensively about Pakistani and South A sian culture for Pakistani and N orth A merican publications She has also published a book about Pakistan?s turbulent film industry titled ?The Pop-Culture Junkie?s Guide To Pakistani Cinema? She is based out of Pakistan

Speaker

Urvashi Butalia is an Indian feminist and publisher

A long with Ritu M enon, she co-founded Kali for W omen, India?s first exclusively feminist publishing house, in 1984 In 20 0 3, following the closure of Kali for W omen, she founded Zubaan Books

Butalia started her career working with O xford U niversity Press in D elhi She later worked for a year at their O xford headquarters, before briefly to London-based Zed Books as an editor in 1982 She then returned to India and, along with Ritu M enon, set up a feminist publishing house, Kali for W omen, in 1984

Butalia?s main areas of interest are partition and oral histories from a feminist and left-wing perspective She has written on gender, communalism, fundamentalism and media H er writings have appeared in several newspapers and magazine publications including The Guardian, the N ew Internationalist, The Statesman, The Times of India, O utlook and India Today. She has been a regular columnist for the left-wing Tehelka and for Indian Printer and publisher, a B2B publication dealing with the print and publishing industry

Butalia is a consultant for O xfam India and she holds the position of Reader at the College of Vocational Studies at the U niversity of D elhi.

Source: A shoka edu in

Speaker

Usman T.Malik's fiction has been published at A l-Jazeera, W IRED , Center for Science and Imagination (A rizona State U niversity), in N ew Voices of Fantasy and several year's best anthologies including The Best A merican Science Fiction & Fantasy series H e has been nominated for the W orld Fantasy, Locus, and Eugie Foster awards, and has won the Bram Stoker and the British Fantasy awards U sman's debut book M idnight D oorways: Fables from Pakistan won the 20 22 Crawford A ward from the International A ssociation for the Fantastic in A rts (IA FA ) and was on W ashington Post's 20 21list of best new science fiction and fantasy collections It is available through his website at www usmanmalik org with an Indian edition forthcoming from H achette India in mid-20 22 U sman was the January 20 21 artist-in-residence at Stetson's U niversity M FA of the A mericas and has been a visiting writer speaker at TED x Lahore, the Clarion W est W riters W orkshop, and several universities in the U S and U K (Twitter @usmantm Instagram @usmantanveermalik).

Speaker

ZibaMir-Hosseini (www zibamirhosseini com)is a legal anthropologist, specializing in Islamic law, gender and Islamic feminism, and a founding member of M usawah <www musawah org> She has held numerous research fellowships and visiting professorships (most recently at N YU Law School) and received the A merican A cademy of Religion?s 20 15 M artin E. M arty A ward for the Public U nderstanding of Religion. Currently she is Professorial Research A ssociate at the Centre for Islamic and M iddle Eastern Law, SO A S, U niversity of London She has published books on Islamic family law in Iran and M orocco, Iranian clerical discourses on gender, Islamic reformist thinkers, and the revival of zina laws H er latest book is Journeys Towards Gender Equality in Islam

(20 22).She co-edited Gender and Equality in M uslim Family Law (20 13),M en in Charge?

Rethinking A uthority in M uslim Legal Tradition (20 15), andJustice and Beauty in M uslim

M arriage: Toward Egalitarian Ethics and Laws(20 22) She also co-directed two award-winning feature-length documentary films on Iran:D ivorce Iranian Style(1998) and Runaway(20 0 1)

Empower Fellows-Moderators

Nuzhat Nisar is an academic writer, editor, and translator. W ith over ten years of editorial experience, she is currently associated with Paramount Books as an editor, working on school textbooks and curricula

N uzhat would like to hone her skills during the capacity-building program and looks forward to learning about emerging technologies in digital publishing and journalism

She believes in promoting regional languages and equal opportunities in education and is an avid supporter of equal rights for women. She also contributes to digital platforms as an independent journalist

SaraDanial is a mother of two A Pakistani writer/editor, born, raised and survived in Karachi, though to be precise, reared in the dunes of D ubai, she was corrupted by English and a voracious appetite for books She?s certain to die in the present century as she was born in the last. Stained by a number of vices, like reading and writing and with a M aster?s degree, she thought the world should be at her feet; but she was wrong She took up her old vice to land up in the world of literature, through which she shares her love for all things sacred to the English language H er writing has been published in D awn, The N ews on Sunday, The Friday Times, Pakistan and Gulf Economist, South A sia, BO L, The Friday Times, The N ation and The Express Tribune. She can usually be found musing about over a cup of coffee, or occasionally ranting You may vent out at sara amj@hotmail co uk

Sehrish Kanwal is citizen journalist and a film maker, studying media and communication at the Karakoram International U niversity Gilgit, Pakistan She has worked with various radio channels, web channels, newspapers, magazines and some TV channel as an anchor, host, drama artist, newscaster and reporter. In 20 22, she completed her BS degree and also received a gold medal for her meritorious work. H er area of interest is community and environmental journalism. Sehrish?s work also covers misinformation, disinformation and marginalized communitied In 20 22, she won citizen journalist award given by M edia M atters for D emocracy, Pakistan

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