Kiran Desai: Difference between revisions

 

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Desai’s first novel, ”[[Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard]]”, was published in 1998.<ref name=”BookBrowse” /> It won the [[Betty Trask Award]],<ref name=”societyofauthors” /> a prize given by the [[Society of Authors]] for best new novels by citizens of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] under the age of 35.<ref name=”christchurch-lib” />

Desai’s first novel, ”[[Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard]]”, was published in 1998.<ref name=”BookBrowse” /> It won the [[Betty Trask Award]],<ref name=”societyofauthors” /> a prize given by the [[Society of Authors]] for best new novels by citizens of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] under the age of 35.<ref name=”christchurch-lib” />

Her second book, ”[[The Inheritance of Loss]],” (2006) was widely praised by critics throughout [[Asia]], Europe and the United States. The novel is set in the [[Himalayas]] and explores themes of identity and culture clash, as well as the impact of [[colonialism]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-19 |title=17 Famous Asian Authors: Immerse Yourself In Asian Culture |url=https://becomeawritertoday.com/famous-asian-authors/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=becomeawritertoday.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> It won the 2006 [[Man Booker Prize]], as well as the 2006 [[National Book Critics Circle]] Fiction Award.<ref name=”Hillel2007-09-03″ /> Desai became the youngest-ever woman to win the Booker Prize at the age of 35 (this record was broken by [[Eleanor Catton]] in 2013).<ref>{{cite web |title=Facts & Figures {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/facts-figures |website=thebookerprizes.com|date=August 2023 }}</ref>

Her second book, ”[[The Inheritance of Loss]],” (2006) was widely praised by critics throughout [[Asia]], Europe and the United States. The novel is set in the [[Himalayas]] and explores themes of identity and culture clash, as well as the impact of [[colonialism]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-19 |title=17 Famous Asian Authors: Immerse Yourself In Asian Culture |url=https://becomeawritertoday.com/famous-asian-authors/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=becomeawritertoday.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> It won the 2006 [[Man Booker Prize]], as well as the 2006 [[National Book Critics Circle]] Fiction Award.<ref name=”Hillel2007-09-03″ /> Desai became the youngest-ever woman to win the Booker Prize at the age of 35 (this record was broken by [[Eleanor Catton]] in 2013).<ref>{{cite web |title=Facts & Figures {{!}} The Booker Prizes |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/facts-figures |website=thebookerprizes.com|date=August 2023 }}</ref>

In August 2008, Desai was a guest on ”[[Private Passions]]”, the biographical music discussion programme hosted by [[Michael Berkeley]] on [[BBC Radio 3]].<ref name=”privatepassions” /> In May 2007, she was the featured author at the inaugural Asia House Festival of Cold Literature.<ref name=”:1″>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2020 |title=Kiran Desai |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/authors/kiran-desai/articleshow/74688401.cms |access-date=21 September 2025 |work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

In August 2008, Desai was a guest on ”[[Private Passions]]”, the biographical music discussion programme hosted by [[Michael Berkeley]] on [[BBC Radio 3]].<ref name=”privatepassions” /> In May 2007, she was the featured author at the inaugural Asia House Festival of Cold Literature.<ref name=”:1″>{{Cite news |date=18 March 2020 |title=Kiran Desai |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/authors/kiran-desai/articleshow/74688401.cms |access-date=21 September 2025 |work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

Indian author (born 1971)

Kiran Desai is an Indian author. Her novel The Inheritance of Loss won the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award.^[1][2] In January 2015, The Economic Times listed her as one of 20 most influential global Indian women.^[3]

Kiran Desai is the daughter of author Anita Desai.^[4] Kiran was born in Delhi, then spent the early years of her life in Punjab and in Mumbai, where she studied at Cathedral and John Connon School.^{[citation needed]}

Desai left India at 14, and she and her mother lived in England for a year, before moving to the United States.^[4] She studied creative writing at Bennington College, Hollins University, and Columbia University.^[5]

Desai’s first novel, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, was published in 1998.^[6] It won the Betty Trask Award,^[7] a prize given by the Society of Authors for best new novels by citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations under the age of 35.^[8]

Her second book, The Inheritance of Loss, (2006) was widely praised by critics throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. The novel is set in the Himalayas and explores themes of identity and culture clash, as well as the impact of colonialism.^[9] It won the 2006 Man Booker Prize, as well as the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award.^[2] Desai became the youngest-ever woman to win the Booker Prize at the age of 35 (this record was broken by Eleanor Catton in 2013).^[10]

In August 2008, Desai was a guest on Private Passions, the biographical music discussion programme hosted by Michael Berkeley on BBC Radio 3.^[11] In May 2007, she was the featured author at the inaugural Asia House Festival of Cold Literature.^[12]

In 2008, the Gates Foundation project invited Desai to report on a community of sex workers in the coastal state of Andhra Pradesh.^[13] In 2009, she was presented with the Columbia University Medal for Excellence.^[13] Desai was awarded a 2013 Berlin Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Berlin.^[12]

In 2017, Desai said that she had been working for more than a decade on a new book “about power… about a young Indian woman out in India and the world”.^[14] In December 2024, it was announced that after a break of nearly two decades, her next novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, was published in the fall of 2025 by Hogarth, an imprint of Random House Publishing Group.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} In September 2025, the novel was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize.^[20]