Curated list of Indian women authors with global appeal

Having the unique advantage of experiencing India’s layers as a woman, our female literati have always fabricated beautiful stories set in this land. But lately, our Indian authors' works in fiction, non-fiction, self-help and a plethora of other topics have impressing global connoisseurs. Stoking the fire in this new ‘think local act global’ trend are the following five Indian woman authors. Here's a list curated and compiled by Binjal Shah

1.       Sonia Faleiro:

Sonia Faleiro is an India born writer and journalist, whose claim to fame is her heartfelt narration of Bombay’s red-light areas in a multiple award-winning non-fiction novel called ‘Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars.’ The book won her many honours: she was described one of the best in her generation. She had lifted the proverbial quill right from when she was in college- and  her first novel, ‘The Girl’ was published in 2005. Faleiro has also made her mark as a journalist by taking her narrative style of investigative writing to various magazines like India Today and Vogue. Her latest is 13Men is her latest book which is being called 'narrative non-fiction at its most powerful' by Fatima Bhutto.

2.       Preeti Shenoy

Preeti Shenoy has turned heads globally too, if her Forbes Top 100 Indian celebs nomination is anything to go by. Her trysts with writing are diverse- she was a columnist with Times of India, as well as a regular contributor to Reader’s Digest, before her readers egged her on to get published under her own banner.  That gave rise to 34 Bubblegums and Candies, a collection of short stories that was quite a hit. Her second and third books “Life Is What You Make It” and “Tea For Two and a Piece of Cake” were bestsellers of 2011 and 2012 in India. She wrote two more books- “The Secret Wish List” and “The One You Cannot Have.” In all she has six novels to her credit. DNA has described her as a 'Keenly observant mind' and Times of India describes her writing as 'Excellent story telling skills'.

3.       Ira Trivedi:

Ira Trivedi has swayed the publishing powerhouse Penguin Books into her turf, and why not- she churned out book after book that entertained, right from the word go. Her three published works, namely “What Would You Do To Save the World?” “The Great Indian Love Story” and “There is No Love on Wall Street,” are all fiction, which is a territory that has not been conquered by Indian literati from a global standpoint. Yet, hers have managed to garner a strong reader-base and have been translated into several languages. Her latest book is called India In Love and reflects on marriage and sex in the 21st century. She has graced the podium at various forums, hosted by ivy-league colleges, leading corporate and even appeared on television to advice aspirants about the field of writing.

 4.  Rashmi Bansal:

Her books on entrepreneurship have sold over half a million copies worldwide, especially her very first- “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” Rashmi is a frequenter on the ACNielsen BookScan for bestsellers. Bansal is a writer, entrepreneur and youth expert especially having the legacy of starting out one of India's key youth magazines called JAM. She is the author of five books on entrepreneurship - Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, Connect the Dots, I Have a Dream, Poor Little Rich Slum, Follow Every Rainbow and Take Me Home. She is especially known for writing her work in Hinglish, thus taking its appeal to a larger Indian audience.

5.  Mridula Koshy:

Mridula Koshy's novel Not Only the Things That Have Happened was shortlistd for the 2013 Crossword Book Award. Her short story collection, If It Is Sweet (Tranquebar Press and Brass Monkey Australia) won the 2009 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize and was shortlisted for the 2009 Vodafone Crossword Book Award. Koshy sustained a living in the US experimenting many job profiles one can enlist- a cashier, a swap-meet sales clerk, backstage dresser at fashion shows, a waitress, a receptionist and later she moonlighted as her true literary aficionado self.  Journals like Wasafiri, Prairie Fir, The Dalhousie Review and Existere have featured her stories. She even published a second novel "Not Only the Things That Have Happened".

Featured Picture courtesy: Facebook