Indian Women Authors, A Must Read From 2016

The content scene in India is exploding and every year the quality of material that writers produce and readers read increase. This was a great year for women writers. From newbie writers to veterans, from cookbooks to literary fiction, every author is able to find their audiences. Here's a list of the women who made the biggest splash in 2016.

Arshia Sattar

The author and translator released two books this year. She released her beautifully illustrated book the Ramayana for Children, and Uttara: The Book of Answers, a translation of Valmiki’s the Uttara Kanda, the most problematic part of the Ramayana: when Rama banishes Sita into the forest.

Also Read: This Diwali, Revisit the Ramayana with Arshia Sattar

Namita Gokhale

The author and director of the famous Jaipur Literature Festival released her new historical novel The Things to Leave Behind. It is a love story that is set in the Kumaon region of India during the British rule. This is the third in a series set in the Kumaon hills.

Namita Gokhale with her latest book, Picture by SheThePeople

Also Watch: Namita Gokhale Writes Her ‘Big Book’ With Things to Leave Behind

Twinkle Khanna

Mrs Funnybones' second book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad has already become a sensation. The book is a collection of heartwarming stories: there is the tale of Noni Appa who finds love in the later stages of her life, and the tale of The Sanitary Man From a Sacred Land- a fictionalised account of the life of Padma Shri awardee Arunachalam Muruganantham.

Also Read: Bringing characters to life: A review of Twinkle Khanna’s The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad

Twinkle Khanna new book writes Source: Indian Express

Anita Anand

The BBC journalist has made quite a splash in the literary scene, after releasing her book on the Kohinoor diamond with author William Dalrymple. The book traces the real story of the diamond, the untold one which is not available by Google searches online, and one that spans back centuries.

Source: Suki Dhanda

Also Read: Author Anita Anand On Uncovering the Gems of History

Taslima Nasrin

Taslima Nasrin writes about her life as a woman writer who was exiled from her country because she was not afraid to voice her opinions. Exile: A Memoir talks about how Nasrin was exiled from Kolkata in 2007 because of the rising tide of Islamic Fundamentalism, and because of the Left Front government’s ineptitude. The book talks about how she was shuttled to Jaipur, and then to a safe-house in Delhi, which she has equated with ‘solitary confinement’.

Also Read: Taslima Nasrin’s Life in Exile

Jhumpa Lahiri

The Pulitzer prize winning author surprised the literary community when she announced that she would no longer be writing in English. Written in Italian and translated into English, her latest book, In Other Words is an autobiographical account of her family's move to Rome, and her immersion into a new language and world.

Trisha Das

The young author (who is also comedian Vir Das' sister) wrote Ms Draupadi Kuru which provides a refreshing take on Draupadi's story. In the book, Draupadi is a bored housewife who comes down from heaven to Delhi, and finds a world that she is completely taken aback by.

Aishwarya Dhanush

Rajnikant's daughter has just released her new memoir Standing on an Apple Box. The book is about the different roles she has played in her life, and is divided into three parts: daughter, wife, and mother.

Also Read: What Did You Read In 2016? Check Out Some Of The Year’s Favourite Reads