Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 37 (2022) Winner
Megha Majumdar
メーガ・マジュムダール
Megha Majumdar
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- Kolkata, India
- Nationality
- India
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Kolkata, India → New York City, United States
Career
- Occupations
- writer, editor
- Active Years
- 2020-2025
- Affiliations
- Catapult (former Editor-in-Chief)
- Influenced By
- Jhumpa Lahiri, Yaa Gyasi
- Nominations
- 2020 National Book Award for Fiction Longlist (A Burning), 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Fiction Shortlist (A Burning), 2025 National Book Award for Fiction Shortlist (A Guardian and a Thief)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | — | social anthropology | — | 2006頃- | United States |
| Johns Hopkins University | — | anthropology | 修士号 | — | United States |
Harvard University
social anthropology
Period:
2006頃-
Country:
United States
Johns Hopkins University
anthropology
Degree:
修士号
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Yuva Puraskar | A Burning | — | Sahitya Akademi | won |
| 2022 | Whiting Award | — | — | Whiting Foundation | won |
Yuva Puraskar
2021
Work:
A Burning
Organization:
Sahitya Akademi
Result:
won
Whiting Award
2022
Organization:
Whiting Foundation
Result:
won
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
A Burning
2020 Literary fictionA novel set in contemporary India following three characters—a young woman accused of terrorism, an ambitious gym teacher, and a hijra performer—whose lives intertwine amid societal turmoil.
marginalized liveshopes and fearspolitical narratives
A Guardian and a Thief
2025 Literary fictionBibliography
- A Burning (2020)
- A Guardian and a Thief (2025)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Uncanny ability to capture vast society through marginalized livesPropulsive and thrilling narrative
Legacy
Her debut novel A Burning became a New York Times bestseller, winning the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar and Whiting Award. Acclaimed for sharply depicting contemporary India's politics and social issues.
Quotes
-
I hope the questions [I ask in the book] don’t appear contained in India and...that readers here are able to think of contemporary America too.
Source: The Wall Street Journal (2020)
Trivia
- Debut novel immediately became a bestseller and was selected for the Today Show book club.