The author of Royal Mary which won the SABA Literary Award 2015 for the best novel, Abo Iashaghashvili’s latest book is Gate of Ganja. His other books include Turkish March and Culprits of Old Tiflis. Abo is also a mountain guide and is passionately interested in studies related to the culture and history of Tbilisi, Georgia.

Danish historian and author Adam Holm has written three books, most recently about the war in Syria. He has worked for five years as editor of opinion at the Danish daily Politiken and was anchorman at Deadline, a current affairs program, from 2006-2016. He is now hosting a weekly radio show and contributes regularly as columnist for two newspapers. He lives in Copenhagen.

Adithya Shankar has been writing poems in English and Malayalam since 2002. His poems were published in periodicals from over 25 countries. After Seeing, Party Poopers and XXL are his collections of poetry. Son of noted poet KGS, Aditya is living in Bengaluru.

Anil Akkara is the member of kerala legislative assembly. Indian National Congress (I) Leader, he was elected to assembly from Wadakkanchery constituency. He was the president of Adat grama panchayath for seven years. During this tenure the grama panchayath had bagged plenty of awards. He had also served as president of the development standing committee in Thrissur district panchayath.

Anjana Mohan is an engineer turned media-marketing professional and writer, who also moonlights as an anchor and host. As a writer, she romanticizes the written language and plays with words to create prose and poetry that portray the poignancy and mundane experiences of human life and the mystical joys of nature. She is a regular blogger who is always in awe of the surreal process of writing and calls her blog “the surreal notes”. She has recently shared her journey at TEDx platform inspiring many to pursue their passions. She is currently working with Mathrubhumi. Her debut novel, Beyond the Christmas Lights was published earlier this year.

Anugraha John is an avid reader who also enjoys writing. She is a Grade 6 graduate of Piano from the London College of Music and a Grade 4 graduate of Drama (scriptwriting and direction) from the Trinity College, London. She is also a bronze awardee of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award. She is currently preparing for her Grade 10 ICSE Board Examination.

Hailing from Kollam, Arun Bhaskar completed postgraduation in Chemistry. He works as a fire officer in Palakkad. He actively involved in the flood relief works in Palakkad.

A jewellery designer hailing from Pala. Asha Sebastian Mattathil learned jewellery making from Gemmological Institute in USA. She is experienced in jewellery making business for over 25 years. she started career by designing jewellery for family members. VIPs purchase wedding jewellery from Asha’s MOD Signature jewellery in Kochi. Actor Mammootty’s daughter Surumi and Rajinikanth’s daughter Aishwarya had worn jewellery designed by Asha for their wedding.

Hailing from Malappuram, Biju Ibrahim is an experienced photographer. He was part of Serendipity Arts Festival. He focuses on historic, cultural and architectural photographic projects. He is also involved in Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Novelist and essayist Chandrahas Choudhury is the author of three works of fiction: Arzee the Dwarf (HarperCollins, 2009), Clouds (Simon & Schuster, 2018) and Days of My China Dragon (Simon & Schuster, 2019). He has been a fellow at the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, USA; Akademie Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany; and Instituto Sacatar, Brazil. He was formerly the Fiction & Poetry editor of The Caravan. In July 2020 he will be a Writing Mentor at the University of Iowa’s Summer Institute, an immersive creative writing program for young people from India, the USA, and Pakistan.

Chandramohan S is an Indian English Dalit poet based in Thiruvananthapuram. His poems were shortlisted for Srinivas Rayaprol Poetry Prize 2016. His second collection of poems titled “Letters to Namdeo Dhasal” won second prize at M Harish Govind memorial prize instituted by Poetry Chain. He was instrumental in organizing literary meets of English poets of Kerala for the Ayyappa Panicker Foundation in addition to being a fellow at the international writing program (IWP) at the university of Iowa.

Cyrus Mistry is an Indian author and playwright. He won the 2014 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature for Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer. Hailing from Mumbai, Mistry began writing at a young age as a playwright, but has also worked as a journalist and short-story writer. His first short was published in 1979. One of his short stories, “Percy”, was made into the Gujarati feature film in 1989 and he wrote the screenplay and dialogue for it. It won the National Award for Best Gujarati Film in 1989, as well as a Critics’ Award at the Mannheim Film Festival. Doongaji House, The Radiance of Ashes and Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer are his other major works.

Denise Jacob is an established entrepreneur and a publisher. He is also the director of India Book Foundation, a non profit organization working towards promoting and cultivating a healthy reading habit amongst the youth of today. He, along with his organisation, has been partnering with several NGO’s in the state to work in pertinent causes involving the student community.

Daughter of C V Suresh and R V Smitha, Devabala published her first collection of poetry ‘From the Second Home’ when she was in class 10. She has visited Switzerland as part of Swiss-Indo Cultural Exchange Programme. Currently, she is Plus One student at Christ Nagar Central School in Kowdiar.

A geoscientist, Dr Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose earned doctorate in physical geography from Utrecht University in Netherlands. Presently, he serves as member secretary of Kerala State Disaster Management Authority and head of State Emergency Operations Centre.

Principal secretary of revenue and disaster management departments. Dr V Venu IAS belongs to the 1990 IAS batch. He had held high posts in tourism and cultural departments. He is also an actor of Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre.

Dr. P Venugopalan is an aattakadha writer, kadhakali scholar and a literary scholar. Was Profesor in malayalam at kerala university. Has authored Krishnaleela and Quixote. Have interpreted the novels of CV Ramanpillai and has edited 101 attakadhakal and Thakazhi Sivasankarapillayude sampoorna kadhakal. Have published complete aattaprakara and kramadeepika of the play aashcharyachoodamani. Is the editor of malayala maha nigandu. Have bagged kerala governments samskara keralam award, kerala kalamandalam’s vallathol award, mukundaraja smrithi award, madhava mudra puraskaram.

With more than 20 years of experience in various fields of Ayurveda, Dr. Sindhu A. is currently member of Ayurvedic Pharmacopeia Commission under Department of Ayush. She has presented papers in a number of national and international conferences and writes articles in leading journals and magazines including Mathrubhumi Arogyamasika, Journal of Kottakkal Arya Vasidhyasala, Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and so on.

Dr Sankaran Kutty is the former director, Ayurveda Medical Association, Govt of Kerala. Holds the post of head of Kayachikilsa dpt, Govt ayurveda College thiruvananthapuram. Had served as Superintendent of Govt ayurveda college hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, principal Govt ayurveda college Thiruvananthapuram, Director ayurveda medical education, Govt of kerala.

A highly prized Portuguese writer, screenwriter and journalist Filipa Martins’ latest novel is From the Rousinol Memoir. The novel received the Manuel Boaventura 2019 Literary Prize. Her other publications include the novels Mustang Branco (2014), Quanta Terra (2009), Praise of the Public Promenade (2008; winner of the Revelation Award), and the coauthored short story collection Mães que tudo (2019). She is also the co-writer of the television series Three Women (winner of the Impala Best Television Series 2019 Award), and the co-author of a weekly radio show “The Library of” dedicated to the promotion of books and reading, and a literary multimedia show on the digital platform NiT.pt.

Frederikke Bencke is project consultant at Danish Cultural Institute. She holds a BA in Modern India and South Asian studies and an MA in cross-cultural studies from University of Copenhagen. Frederikke is interested in the ways gender plays out in public urban spaces, and how art and cultural projects can be used as vehicles for social change.

Noted architect. Shankar completed BTech from CET with second rank and MTech from Birmingham University with first rank. He campaigns for eco-friendly, durable and affordable houses. He started the organisation ‘Habitat’ in Thiruvananthapuram in 1985 and is the chief architect there. He was honoured with Padma Shri in 2011.

Hari S Kartha has been working in the media industry for over 30 years. He served as chief editor of Janmabhoomi and senior executive editor of Amritha TV. He has also worked with Economic Times, Financial Express, Gulf News and Reuters.

Janne Meier is an anthropologist with a research background in the fashion industry. She ran a design studio in Delhi before joining the Danish Cultural Institute as a project consultant.

Johny Miranda writes about the lives of the people dwelling in Ponjikkara and the surrounding island. Jeevichirikkunnavarkku Vendiyulla Oppees, Puzhayude Paryayam and Vishudha Likhithangal are his novels. Among his works, Jeevichirikkunnavarkku Vendiyulla Oppees was later published in English under the title ‘Requiem for the Living’ by Oxford University Press. The novel is a textbook of Gandhigram Rural Institute in Dindigul.

MP from Kannur Lok Sabha constituency and Congress leader. K Sudhakaran completed post-graduation in history and LLB. He was elected as MLA in 1996, 2001 and 2009. He was also won the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. He served as forest minister in A K Antony-led cabinet.

Karthika V K works as a Publisher at Westland Publications Pvt Ltd, an Amazon company. She joined publishing in 1996 as an editorial assistant at Penguin Books India and moved to HarperCollins India as Publisher in 2006. She has published several award-winning and commercially successful writers including Aravind Adiga, Amruta Patil, Anuja Chauhan, Josy Joseph, Manu Joseph, Rana Dasgupta, Raghu Karnad, Rohini Mohan, Sarnath Banerjee and Vishwajyoti Ghosh. At Westland, she led the launch of a new imprint called Context that publishes literary fiction and political non-fiction. Since its launch in February 2018, Context has published books by Amrita Mahale, Anita Nair, Aparna Jain, Appupen, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Devapriya Roy, Kapil Komireddi, Karthika Nair, Krupa Ge, Manu Pillai, Maxwell Pereira, Mirza Waheed, Namita Devidayal, Neyaz Farooquee, Parismita Singh, Paul Zacharia, Perumal Murugan, Priya Kuriyan, Revaty Lall and Saba Dewan among others.

Hailing from Kasaragod, Chandraprakash is settled in Thiruvananthapuram. Hridayathinte Niram, Puzha Malsyathil Ozhukumbol, Daivappani, Plavilakal Swapnam Kanunna Pathumma and Saraswathi are his major works. He edited over 200 books in the knowledge book series of Kerala Bhasha Institute. He also directed five short films and 30 documentaries.

With over more than three decades of experience in main stream media, M G Radhakrishnan currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Asianet News. He was formerly the Associate Editor of India Today Magazine as well as Mathrubhumi. He has authored two books “Damshtrayum Nettikkanuum Theliyumpol and Bagyam Premam Sangeetham. He has won various awards including State Award for Development Journalism, Kerala State Film Award for best writing on Cinema and so on.

Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee is a poet, writer and political science scholar. He is the author of Looking for the Nation: Towards Another Idea of India (Speaking Tiger, 2018). His first collection of poetry, Ghalib’s Tomb and Other Poems (2013), was published by The London Magazine. He frequently writes for The Wire, and has contributed to The New York Times, Al-Jazeera, Los Angeles Review of Books, Guernica, The Hindu, The Indian Express, Outlook, among other publications.

Editor of Mathrubhumi. Manoj K Das hails from Kangazha in Kottayam. He started his journalistic career with The New Indian Express in 1994 and later served as Kochi bureau chief, deputy resident editor and resident editor. He also worked as resident editor of Asianet News, Deccan Chronicle and Times of India. He was the founder resident of editor of Deccan Chronicle and Times of India in Kerala.

Manoranjan Byapari

Mathew Joseph is a native of Cherthala in Alappuzha. He has been working in seafood exporting field since 1990. Currently, he is the CEO of online fish and meat sales company ‘Fresh to Home’ which was started in 2012. It is the largest e-commerce platform for fish and meat sale.

Hailing from Thodupuzha, Mathukutty Xavier is the director of ‘Helen’, a survival thriller movie in Malayalam released in 2019. ‘Helen’ is the directorial debut of Mathukutty Xavier.

Meghnad S is an author, columnist, public policy professional, podcaster and Youtube creator. He has his own show, Consti-tution, on the Newslaundry and is an influencer on Twitter with the handle @memeghnad. Meghnad has a popular podcast with IVM podcasts called ‘How to Citizen’ where he revises school civics with Comedians & other public personalities. He also travels all over the country to conduct civics classes for college students and working professionals under the banner Democracy IRL.

His articles have appeared and gone viral on BuzzFeed and other content websites. Prior to his current avatar, Meghnad has worked with Members of Parliament across Party lines for 7 years in the capacity of a public policy analyst & research aide.

Murali K Menon has 22 years of professional experience in writing and editing in magazines and newspapers in India. Specialise in ideating, editing, writing long-form stories, and of creating specialized video and print content for corporates. Murali was completed his Masters in English Literature from Calicut University in 1996 and worked with number of national and international publishing companies. Started his career with Business Standard as Sub-editor and later worked with The Indian Express, Man’s World, Mumbai Mirror, etc.

Currently he is working as Content Strategist at HaymarketSAC, Mumbai.

Burmese author, translator Myay Hmone Lwin has a short story collection and four novels to his credit namely An Otter Sneaked Out from the Yangon Zoo (short story) and novels – One By Two, Khu, Watch Out Your Shadow and What has been Written on the Stone can’t be Erased by an Eraser. Myay’s poetry collections are Wanna Ride? and Scuttlebutt, which was published in a bilingual edition. He is also the founder of NDSP (Ngar Doe Sar pay – ‘Our Literature’), a publishing house. It has published about 150 titles, many of them bestsellers.

Myay was nominated for the International Publishers Association’s Freedom to Publish award in 2014. He won the Salai Tin Maung Oo Literary Award in 2014. He is the founder of Yangon Book Plaza, the biggest book plaza in Myanmar. He has edited an anthology of Burmese writing called A Knot is Where you Tie a Piece of Rope.

Content Highlights: Myay Hmone Lwin, MBIFL 2020, Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters

Namita Gokhale is an award-winning writer, publisher and festival director. She is the author of 18 books, including ten works of fiction. Her latest novel, Jaipur Journals, is set against the backdrop of the Jaipur Literature Festival. Gokhale is a founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival and of Mountain Echoes, the Bhutan Literature Festival. She is also one of the founder directors of Yatra Books, a publishing house specialised in translation.

Namita Waikar is a writer and translator. She is the author of the novel The Long March. She is the managing editor of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) and writes on gender, women, society and culture with a focus on rural life. She leads and writes for the Grindmill Songs Project and oversees PARI’s Indian languages translations programme. She is a partner in a chemistry databases firm in Pune, which is the culmination of her work of over 20 years as a biochemist and a software project manager.

Narayan hails from Idukki. He retired as postmaster in 1995. He writes about marginalised people. His novel ‘Kocharethi’ is about a tribal sect in Kerala. It was widely appreciated as a Dalit novel. Ooralikudi, Chengarum Kuttalum, Vannala and Nissahayante Nilavili are his major works. He received many honours including Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award and Thoppil Ravi Award.

Narayani Basu is a historian and foreign policy analyst. A graduate in history and Chinese foreign policy from the University of Delhi, she published her first book The United States and China: Competing Discourses of Regionalism in East Asia in 2015. Published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, the book is available in major libraries worldwide including the University of New South Wales, Leiden University, Cambridge University, the National Library of Scotland, the University of Toronto, and McGill University. She continues to write extensively on foreign policy for several acclaimed international journals, while remaining actively involved in her parent discipline — modern Indian history. Her current area of interest focuses on highlighting the lesser-known but key players behind the story of Indian independence. The story of VP Menon is the product of that interest, and her second book.

Naushad has been working in publishing sector for the past 25 years. He started his career in Mulberry Books and also worked for Olive Books. He started his own publishing firm Pappiyon in 1999. At present, he works as publication manager of Mathrubhumi Books. Thiruvezhuthukal, Kazantzakis: Jeevithavum Rachanayum and Rathriyude Manthrangal are his major books. He also edited Theevandi Paranja Kathakal and Mathrubhumi Aazhchapathipp Kathakal.

Nicola Streeten also writing under the name Nicola Plowman is an academic, speaker, writer, teacher of comics, illustrator and cultural anthropologist. She has worked nationally and internationally in a wide range of contexts and with diverse variety of people. Nicola’s works include: Billy, You and Me, The Inking Woman (co-author), UK Feminist Cartoons and Comics: A Critical Survey. She is also the co-founder of Laydeez Do Comics.

Founder of the Belpointe Crypto Index, Nithin Eapen is originally from Kerala, India. He presently resides in Connecticut, USA. He is a well-known crypto-evangelist, speaker, investor, trader and CEO of Chance River. He is an advisory board member to multiple companies and speaker at various blockchain conferences across the world. Nithin graduated in engineering from the Wright State University in Ohio and secured Masters in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago. Also he held the position of the Chief Investment Officer for Arcadia Crypto Ventures.

Nithin was a developer and built trading systems at UBS, RBS and Bank of America. He is also an avid squash player and a movie buff.

Riga-born Nora Ikstena is a Latvian writer. She was one of the first writers to introduce feminism ideology in Latvia. She studied at the University of Latvia. Her debut novel Celebration of Life (1998), written in Latvian, was translated into several languages. Nora has written more than 20 books including many short stories, fairy tales, novels and biographies. Her recent novel Soviet Milk was translated into English and published by Peirene Press.

Former Kerala cricketer, coach and sports writer. P Balachandran has played for Duleep Trophy and Ranji Trophy. He trained various state level teams for 16 years and has been a coach for 35 years. He is a columnist in Mathrubhumi Sports magazine.

P C George is the MLA of Poonjar constituency. He was part of Kerala Congress (M) till 1977 and later joined Kerala Congress Joseph faction and continued to be its leader till 2004. Later, he formed Kerala Congress (Secular).

In 2016 assembly polls, he contested as independent candidate and won the election. He was appointed as chief whip with cabinet rank in the 2011 UDF government. He was elected as MLA from Poonjar constituency eight times.

A Professor and currently the Director of IIIT, Hyderabad, P J Narayanan’s research interests include Computer Vision, Computer Graphics, and Parallel Computing. Narayanan has contributed to the areas of computer vision, computer graphics and parallel processing. In computer vision his early work on 3D recovery of dynamic scenes through virtualized reality has resulted in tremendous growth in 3D capture to be available to end users. Capture of 3D has now become common place through the Microsoft Kinect and other commodity sensors. He pioneered the use of innovative platforms like the GPU for common computer vision applications such as graph cuts, neural networks, clustering etc. He was a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) in 2016 and has won a number of awards including Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Presidential Award, Best Industry Paper Honourable Mention Award in the British Machine Vision Conference (BMVC), 2018, Best GPU paper in the High Performance Computing (HiPC), 2013 and so on.

P K Rajasekharan is a well-known literary critic and journalist. Hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, Rajasekharan obtained PhD from Kerala University. He has bagged the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997 for literary criticism. Rajasekharan has also received Kerala Sahitya Akademi’s first Vilasini Award in 2000. He is the former news editor in Mathrubhumi daily. Pithrukhadikaram: OV Vijayante Kalayum Darshanavum, Andhanaya Daivam: Malayala Novelinte Nooru Varshangal, Ekantha Nagarangal: Utharadhunika Malayala Sahithyathinte Saundarya Sasthram, Kathantharangal: Malayala Cherukadhayude Akhyanabhoopadam, Nishasandarshanangal, Vaakkinte Moonnamkara and Narakathinte Bhoopadangal are some of his noted works.

P N Gopeekrishnan, hailing from Kodungallur in Thrissur, is a noted Malayalam poet. Currently, he is a manager with Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE). He has won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Ayanam-A Ayyappan Award, K Damodaran Award, Dr PK Rajan Award, Kunjunni Smrithi Award. His important works include Madiyarude Manifesto, Idikkaloori Panampattadi, Daivathe Maattiyezhuthumpol. Gopikrishnan has penned scripts for movies Olipporu and Pathirakkalam and commentary for many documentaries.

P P Ramachandran, hailing from Vattamkulam in Malappuram, is a Malayalam poet. His collected poems are Kanekkane, Randay Murichathu, Kalamkari and Katte Kadale. He has also published children’s books including Pathalam, Poochakurunjiyarum Anchu Makkalaum, Poothappattu and Marakkuthira. Some of the major awards he received include Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, P Kunhiraman Nair Poetry Award, Cherusseri Award, Kunjupillai Memorial Award, Changampuzha Award, VT Kuman Award, V K Unnikrishnan Award and Cherukad Award.

His poems were translated into Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi and Hindi. He also received a senior fellowship of the Union Ministry for Culture.

P T Thomas is an MLA and a Congress leader. He is also a former parliamentarian from Idukki during 2009 and 2014. He had also represented Thodupuzha Constituency in 9th and 11th Assembly. P T Thomas is one of the few politicians who work hard for the Haritha Keralam movement. He was the senate member of Kerala University.

P V Shaji Kumar is one of the noted young authors in Malayalam. He was born in 1983 in Kasaragod. Janam, Vellarippadam, Kidappara Samaram, Ullal and GLP Uschool Keekkangott are his collections of stories. He has also authored memoirs titled Kalichampothiyilekk Oru Half Ticket and Itha Innu Muthal Itha Innale Vare. He penned screenplay for the movies ‘Kanyaka Talkies’ and ‘Take Off’ and dialogue for ‘Puthan Panam’.

Kendra Sahitya Akademi Yuva Award, SBT Award, New York Film Festival Award for the best screenplay, Kerala State Youth Commission’s Youth Icon Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi – Geetha Hiranyan Endowment, Shanghai Film Festival Award for the best screenplay and Anganam Award are some of the honours he received.

Panos Karnezis was born in Greece and later moved to England. He studies for an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. He studied engineering at Oxford and worked in the industry before started writing fiction. Little Infamies, the first book written by Panos in 2002, is a collection of connected short stories. Then in 2004 he wrote The Maze which was shortlisted for the 2004 Whitbread First Novel Award and also won the Pendleton May First Novel Award.

Panos have further authored novels like The Birthday Party, The Convent and The Fugitives. His short stories have been broadcast by BBC Radio 4 and have appeared in Granta, New Writing 11, Prospect and Arete. His works have been translated into 20 languages.

Paro Anand is a Sahitya Akademi, Bal Sahitya Award winner for her book ‘Wild Child’ now published as ‘Like Smoke’ with additional content. She has written books for children, young adults and adults. She also works with children, especially those in difficult circumstances through her program Literature in Action and holds a world record for helping over three thousand children make the world’s longest newspaper. She was invited to speak at the Harvard India Conference, USA on Disruptive Innovation in Literature for Young Adults and Children. She has been awarded for her contribution to children’s literature by The Russian Centre for Science and Culture. No Guns at my Son’s Funeral, which opened to rave reviews, was on the International Board on Books for Young People Honour List, has been translated into German and French. She headed the National Centre for Children’s Literature.

As a performance storyteller and speaker Paro Anand has represented India in the USA, UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, Germany and Bangladesh, besides all over India. In 2019, she was awarded the Kalinga Karubaki Literary Award for Fearless Women Writers.

Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr (1953) is a Hyderabad-born New Delhi-based freelance journalist worked with the Indian Express, India Today, The Gulf Today (Sharjah), tehelka.com, National Review, DNA (Daily News and Analysis), and wrote for The Gulf News, Today (Singapore), Daily Star (Beirut), Deccan Herald (Bangalore), Times of India. He has written Mullah Omar and Robespierre Essays in Politics of Ideas (Rupa; 2005), a collections of his columns he write in The New Sunday Express Magazine between 2000 and 2004, Lokpal, Facts and Arguments (HarAnand; 2011), Indian Politics Since 1991 Reforms and Revivalism (HarAnand; 2013), The Emergency An Unpopular History (HarAnand; 2016) and Rajiv Gandhi to Narendra Modi Broken Polity, Flickering Reforms (Sage Select; 2019).

Pattabhi Raman is one of the leading textile businessmen in the country. He arrived in Thrissur at the age of 21 and started Kalyan Silks. The textile group has around 29 showrooms and four hypermarkets in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Oman and UAE. He has bagged many honours for his excellence in business.

Philipose Padikkal is a graduate in philosophy and has diploma in journalism. He works for an organisation for alcoholics.

Piya Bahadur is the author of Road to Mekong: Four Women, Six Countries, 17,000 Kilometres – An Adventure of a Lifetime (2019) which recounts the journey of four women who rode 17, 000 kilometres on their motorbikes through six countries in Southeast Asia-from Hyderabad, through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, along the river Mekong, and finally to Cambodia. Before the motorcycling bug bit her, she was Regional Officer at the US-India Education Foundation and had also worked at the Indian School of Business. She is currently working on her startup, which makes software to help small businesses, especially women-owned, run more efficiently.

Prabha Varma is a renowned poet, journalist, editor and lyricist. He is a recipient of more than 30 literary awards including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Vayalar Award, P Kunhiraman Nair Award, Asan Poetry Prize, Malayattoor Award and Vallathol Award. His major books include Shyama Madhavam, Souparnika, Arkkapoornima, Chandana Nazhi and Aardram. He has also bagged the Kerala State Film Award for lyrics, Film Critics Award for best lyrics and Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award for the best lyrics of drama.

In journalistic career, he received Kerala State Journalism Award for general reporting, K Madhavankutty Award for the best English feature, Media Trust Award for Journalism, Indiwood Media Award and K C Sebastian Award among others.

He had been a parliamentary reporter for about 12 years. He served as the press secretary of chief minister, News Director of Kairali-People TV channel, Resident Editor of Deshabhimani daily, Kerala Sahitya Akademi vice president and a member of Kendra Sahitya Akademi. At present, he is the media advisor of Kerala chief minister.

Noted literary and social critic. He penned many books including MG Radhakrishnan: Jeevitham, Sangeetham, Orma, Bharat Murali and Malayala Samanthara Masika Charithram. He also edited many books.

Award winning journalist, teacher and mother,Preeti is Gujarat’s first woman stand up comedian. Preeti has won the Ladlee Media Award for Investigative Journalism in India in 2015-16 for her series of stories on documenting the life of gang-rape victims. A former market researcher, radio jockey and head of communication for ActionAid International Tsunami Project (disaster response), Preeti is known for her punchy scripts. She is half Tamil, half Bengali and is married to a Gujarati. Her secret desire is to do an item number in a Tamil movie.

One of the leading film directors in Indian Cinema. He directed over 70 movies in Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil. The National Award for Best Film in 2007 was won by Tamil movie ‘Kancheevaram’ directed by him. Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, Thalavattam, Ninnishtam Ennishtam, Vellanakalude Nadu, Mukundetta Sumithra Vilikkunnu, Chithram, Vandanam, Kilukkam, Mithunam, Thenmavin Kombathu, Kalapani and Oppam are a few of his much-appreciated movies.

Priyanka Dubey is a journalist and writer based in Delhi. Her first book titled, ‘No Nation for Women -Reportage on Rape from India, the World’s Largest Democracy’ has been published by Simon & Schuster India. Her book has been shortlisted for the 2019 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, the 2019 Tata Literature Live Awards and the 2019 Prabha Khaitan Women’s Voice Award. Her investigative reporting on social justice and human rights has won multiple International and National recognitions which include the 2019 Chameli Devi Jain Award For Outstanding Woman Journalist, the 2015 Knight International Journalism Award, the 2014 Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism, the 2013 Red Ink Award for Excellence in Indian Journalism, 2012 Press Council of India’s Award for Excellence in Investigative Journalism and the 2011 Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Indian Journalism.

Also, her stories were finalists in the 2014 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist from the Developing World Awards and the 2013 German Development Media Awards. Priyanka is also a 3 times Laadli media award winner and a former Chevening fellow. She was born in Bhopal.

Prof Johns K Mangalam is professor of philosophy at Sree Kerala Varma College in Thrissur. After he miraculously survived the aftereffects of severe alcoholism, Johns started campaigning against alcoholism through the rehabilitation centre Punarjani. He could also save lives of many liquor addicts. He penned a book titled ‘Kudiyante Kumbasaram’.

Pushpa Palat, prior to her career in journalism worked with British Airways in London handling VIP and CIP travellers. On her return to India she worked with British Tourism and later commenced her career as a writer, writing for all the major Indian newspapers. Apart from regular features, Pushpa, contributed several ‘Middles’ for the Times of India. Combining her experience in the travel business and her passion for writing she went on to represent a travel magazine ‘Destination Traveller’ and a Hong Kong based travel trade newspapers paper, TTG. She has also written text books on Tourism and Travel for the Travel and Tourism course of a leading Management Institute.

Expanding her writing repertoire she has, in recent years, moved on to penning content for several luxury and hospitality brands and also to writing books. Her book, just prior to this one, ‘Champ My Favourite Child’ was on the Amazon best seller list and is a favourite with school children from Mumbai’s premier schools as it is about her pet dog. Pushpa has had a long career in journalism having written for thirty years.

Raghu and Pushpa Palat, two writers of divergent genres, differing styles and unique perspectives have come together to write a story that is very dear to their heart as ‘The Case that Shook the Empire’ is about Raghu’s great grandfather, Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair. The Case that Shook the Empire’ is a historical novel that tells history as it should be told, as a story. It is a book that brings alive a tumultuous era in Indian history.

Biju Mohan is the senior technical manager in Mathrubhumi. He has been a judge of many debates and quiz master in quiz shows.

R S Babu is the chairman of Kerala Media Academy. He had worked as consultant editor of Deshabhimani. He has served as acting general secretary of Kerala Union of Working Journalists and secretary of Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust.

He is the recipient of awards such as Sivaram Award, state government’s award, Media trust Award and I V Devadas Award.

Translator and children’s writer. Radhika C Nair holds a PhD in Malayalam. Kattilekku Ethrayo Vazhikal, Pakshichantha, Kuzhiyanakalude Kalath, Samakalika Sahithya Sidhantham Oru Padapusthakam and Paralguha are some of her major works.

Radhika Oberoi has a work experience for more than 17 years in advertising and publishing industry. She has completed her Masters’ in Creative Writing and Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia, UK. Her debut novel Stillborn Season was published in November 2018. She has also moonlighted as a journalist for The Times of India, The Hindu Literary Review, The New York Times blog, India Ink, Forbes magazine, The Indian Quarterly magazine, Nikkei Asian Review, The Wire, Firstpost, and scroll.in.

A popular Malayalam lyricist and poet from Thrissur, Rafeeq Ahammed voluntarily retired from service while working in Employees State Insurance Service. He has won many awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Vyloppilli Award, Odakkuzhal Award and P Kunjiraman Nair Award. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for best lyrics four times. Rafeeq has published seven poetry collections and two children’s books. His noted books include Aalmara, Cheetukalikkar, Shivakami, Gramavrikshathile Vavval, Thoraamazha, Pattuvazhiyorathu, Swapnavangmoolam and Azhukkillam.

Raghu Palat is a leading writer on banking, finance and investments. He has been writing for major financial newspapers, magazines and journals for the last four decades and has over 45 published books to his credit. A Chartered Accountant by training and a banker, by profession, he has been in several senior positions in American an South East Asian Banks and has worked in Europe, Asia, Africa and Europe. He is presently the Managing Director of Cortlandt Rand Consultancy Private Ltd.

Palat began his writing career with the objective of simplifying taxation and investment for the common man. He has also penned numerous books on soft-skills for management executives. Several of his books have been best sellers and his book on ratio analysis was used as a reference manual by students at Wharton whereas his books on retail banking and corporate banking were used by several banks in this country at their training centres. He wrote a weekly column for Bombay Times on major business influencers and industrial magnates which was later amalgamated into a book series.

With his background in banking and his writing experience Raghu was called upon to write limited edition coffee table books, for prestigious banks country – The Union Bank of India (released by Shri Prithviraj Chauhan, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra), The Central Bank of India (released by the then Finance Minister of India Pranab Mukherjee) and the The Bank of India (released by the President of India the late Abdul Kalam).

Raghu Palat is also the great grandson of Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair (former President of the Indian National Congress and a Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council) and Sir Rama Varma, Maharaja of Cochin. The Case that Shook the Empire is a historical novel that tells history as it should be told -as a story. It is a book that brings alive a tumultuous era in Indian History.

Raja Nandini is a painter, writer and a traveller hailing from Ernakulam. She has conducted painting exhibitions at various places. She is the author of the book ‘Kailasa Yathra’.

Rajat UbhaykarRajat Ubhaykar trained as an electrical engineer at IIT Kanpur, and went on to study journalism at the Asian College of Journalism after a stint in management consulting. A recipient of the PoleStar Award in 2016 for his reportage, his work has appeared in publications such as Mint, Outlook Business, Roads & Kingdoms, and Madras Courier.

His debut book, a travelogue titled Truck de India: A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Hindustan, has received favourable reviews in esteemed publications such as India Today, Mint, Outlook Traveller and Firstpost. He lives in Mumbai, and spends his spare time reviewing books, collecting trivia, and exploring India’s archaeological sites.

A Television Journalist with more than two decades of experience, Rajeev Devaraj is particularly known for his political reporting and election coverings. He has worked with Television channels including Manorama News, Indiavision, Kairali TV and Surya.

The Editor of the Tribune, Chandigarh and a former Editor-in-Chief of the national news magazine, Outlook, Rajesh Ramachandran has over 25 years of experience in various national media. Ramachandran’s political analysis and commentary appear in his regular column nous indica in The Tribune. Earlier, his column polibelly used to appear in The Economic Times. As a reporter Ramachandran had covered the Kargil war for Hindustan Times; broken the coffin scam for The Times of India; and had extensively reported on the Maoist insurgency and the last Eelam war for NDTV. Martyrdom to Freedom: 100 Years of Jallianwala Bagh is Ramachandran’s first book. He has edited this volume of essays on the centenary of the massacre by top Indian historians and it also has precious archival material from The Tribune.

Rajmohan Unnithan is the MP from Kasaragod constituency and a Congress leader. He hails from Thiruvananthapuram. He served as KPCC general secretary in 2015. He has also acted in more than 10 movies. He acted in many amateur and professional dramas during college life.

Ranjith is a noted screen writer, director and actor in Malayalam film industry. He debuted as a story writer for the movie ‘Oru Maymasappulariyil’. He penned screenplay for movies including Devasuram, Pookkalam Varavayi, Mayamayooram, Aaram Thampuran and Narasimham.

He bagged state and national awards for screenplay and movie. Indian Rupee, Bavoottyiyude Namathil, Ranjithinte Thirakkathakal and Kannu Chimmumbol are his published works. He acted in the movies including Koode and Annayum Rasoolum.

Rejimon Kuttappan is a migrant rights defender and independent journalist. He was Chief Reporter for Times of Oman until he was deported in 2017 for exposing human trafficking and modern slavery in the Arab Gulf. Afterwards, he joined Equidem Research and Consulting, a specialist human and labour rights consultancy, as India-Arab Gulf Senior Investigator.

Rejimon regularly contributes to Thomson Reuters Foundation, Middle East Eye, Migrant Rights, Equal Times, Caravan, wire.in, The Lede, The News Minute, etc., writing on workers’ rights, Dalit and tribal struggles, manual scavengers and marginalized people in Kerala.

He is also an ILO-Panos fellow on Forced Labour and advisor to the Ethical Journalism Network. His work was published in Uncertain Journeys: Labour Migration from South Asia (Speaking Tiger, 2018).
Rejimon is also a diplomacy certificate holder on human rights and global tools from University of New South Wales in Australia.

He has also delivered several workshops and seminars in Asia and the Middle East for civil society on identifying worker rights violations, and for journalists on the importance of adopting ethical standards while reporting migrant issues.

Rejimon wrote the book Rowing Between Rooftops: The Heroic Fishermen of Kerala Floods. The book published by Speaking Tiger (2018) was launched by Dr Shashi Tharoor. This book is both a chronicle of heroism and a tribute to the enduring courage of a community that saved Kerala in its moment of need.

In the preface, Dr Tharoor wrote that ‘In Rowing Between the Rooftops, Rejimon brings to life the heroic, life-saving efforts, made by the fishing community of Kerala, particularly those from Thiruvananthapuram… Rejimon writes in a highly readable manner that brings their heroism to life. Each page, filled with heart-warming anecdotes of the valour of our coastal communities…. A work to cherish!

Rejimon is also the founder of ‘MigCall’, a smart phone app launched to help Indian migrant workers in the Arab Gulf lodge complaints about their conditions. The app is recognised officially by Indian External Affairs Ministry.

Rejimon belongs to the Panan Dalit community of Kerala. Historically ballad singers, they recited the acts of great warriors and kings. He wishes to continue their storytelling legacy through this book.

A Dalit and feminist thinker, social activist and writer. She earned doctorate in Philosophy from MG University. She worked as a project manager with Amnesty International. Currently, she works as assistant professor at the Department of Gandhian Studies in MG University. He has penned a book titled ‘Dalit Sthree Idapedalukal’.

Resmi Sateesh completed MSW from University of Calicut and audiography from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata.

She gained popularity after singing the song ‘Ini Varunnoru Thalamurakk Ivide Vasam Sadhyamo’ penned by Inchakkad Balachandran.

She has worked as location sound recordist of the movie ‘Makaramanju’ directed by Lenin Rajendran.

Ridhima Pandey is a student studies at 8th standard at DAV Public School Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Her father is working for Wildlife conservation for the last 19 years. Ridhima has filed a petition in March 2017 against the Government of India in the National Green Tribunal(NGT), asserting that the Indian government has failed to fulfill its duties to her and the Indian people to mitigate climate change. Now the case is in the Supreme court of India.

She attended an International conference organized by Notre affaire a tour in Paris on 3rd November 2017. She Also joined Greta Thunberg on September 20, in her Global Climate Strike at Manhatten NewYork. Ridhima with the other fifteen teenagers has filed a complaint against five countries (Argentina, Turkey, Germany, France, and Brazil ) in the UN for not doing enough to stop Climate Change.

A multimedia artist and curator, Riyas Komu is the ideator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale and Co-Founder of Kochi Biennale Foundation (est. 2010). He co-curated the first edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2012 and has been the Director of Programmes of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (2012, 2014, 2016) and in this capacity, he has initiated the Students’ Biennale, Children’s Biennale (ABC, Art by Children), Artists Cinema, Video Lab, Let’s Talk series & History Now (Talks and Seminars), Pepper House Residency & Exhibition. He has been the Advisor and Visual Arts Curator for Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa in 2016 & 2017 and has conceptualised and curated the ‘Young Sub-Continent’ project since 2016, 17 & 18. In 2016, he founded URU Art Harbour a cultural hub in Mattancherry, Kochi, which seeks to be a space for collaboration and a continual hub for artistic, cultural, and intellectual exploration.

Roby Das is a traveller and columnist. He started the travel show Mathrubhumi Yathra aired on Mathrubhumi News channel from 2015. The show has already completed 250 episodes. He went on a bike ride covering 25 states. Also he travelled to seven countries all by himself. The column ‘Bharat by Bike’ has been continuing in Mathrubhumi Yathra magazine for three years. he is the anchor of the show ‘Open Road’ aired on Kappa TV.

Entrepreneur, dancer, anchor and social activist. Roopa George is the Managing Director of the Pan Asian restaurant ‘Asian Kitchen at Tokyo Bay’ and seafood wholesaler Baby Marine International. Roopa has bagged many honours like Kairali Jwala Award and Professional Conclave Award.

Rose Mary is a leading writer in Malayalam. She was born in 1956 in Kottayam. She completed post-graduation in English literature and diploma in Journalism. Vakkukal Cheekkerunnidam, Chanju Peyyunna Mazha, Venalil Oru Puzha, Ivide Inganeyum Oral, Vrishchika Kattu Veesumbol, Nalinakshan Nairkk Snehapoorvam and Marikkunnuvo Malayalam are her major works.

She has won many honours including SBT Poetry Award, Muthukulam Parvathy Amma Award and Lalithambika Antharjanam Best Young Woman Writer Award.

Poet and teacher. S Joseph hails from Ettumanoor in Kottayam. He teaches Malayalam at Maharajas College in Ernakulam. His major works include Karutha Kallu, Meenkaran, Identity Card, Uppante Kooval Varakkunnu, Chandranodoppam and Manja Parannal.

He bagged many honours including Kerala Sahitya Akademi Kanakasree Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and Odakkuzhal Award.

S K Nair aka S Karunkaran Nair is former secretary of BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). He served as treasurer of BCCI from 1993 to 1997 and as finance committee chairman from 1998 to 2002. He became secretary of BCCI from 2003 to 2005. Also he has served as treasurer and secretary of Asian Cricket Council.

S Krishnakumar is the managing director of Nikunjam Constructions and chairman of Kerala Chapter of Real Estate Developers Association of India (KREDAI).

Writer and journalist. A native of Thiruvananthapuram, S R Lal works as assistant editor of Grandhalokam magazine of Kerala State Library Council. His noted works are Bhoomiyil Nadakkunnu, Jeevithasugandhi, Coffee House, Jeevacharithram, Kalivattam, Statue PO and Kunjunniyude Yathrapusthakam.

He won many awards like Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for children’s literature. Abu Dhabi Sakthi Award, Siddhartha Sahithya Award, Vellanad Narayanan Award and Aliyad G Madhavan Pillai Award.

Hailing from Kottayam, Prof. S Saradakutty is a well-known literary and social critic in Malayalam. She earned PhD in Malayalam from MG University. Presently, she works as Malayalam professor at Parumala Devaswom Board College. Her major works include Pennu Kothiya Vakkukal, Pranayathadavukaran, Penvinimayangal and Njan Ningalkkethire Aakashatheyum Bhoomiyeyum Sakshyam Vekkunnu.

Author, Journalist and Commentator, Saba Naqvi is one of India’s best known political analysts. She has published three books. Her books include Good Faith (2012), Capital Conquest (2015), Shades of Saffron: from Vajpayee to Modi (2018). Saba’s next book, on Coalitions in India, is still to be published. Saba writes columns in leading national dailies and websites. She is also an election analyst on television and a known political commentator. Saba has been a Reuters fellow at Oxford University, a Jefferson Fellow at the East West Centre at Hawaii, has been selected for the Asia Leadership Fellow Award given by the Japan Foundation at Tokyo and the US State Department’s fellowship for leading professionals from across the world.

Senior Indian Journalist, television commentator and interviewer, Saeed Naqvi has interviews many world leaders and personalities in India and abroad. He has written for several publications including BBC News, The Sunday Observer, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Indian Express, The Citizen and Outlook magazine. Saeed started his journalist career as Staff Reporter with The Statesman and later became editor of the Sunday Magazine. He was also editor and producer of World Report, a weekly foreign affairs show on Doordarshan. He has been editor, Foreign Editor, Foreign Correspondent for major Indian dailies including The Indian Express, The Statesman and also written for a range of publications like New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, Boston Globe and others.

Saeed won the National Integration Award 2003 given by the National Commission for Minorities in New Delhi.

Artist and cartoonist. A native of Manjeri in Malappuram, he worked in periodicals such as freelance artist for Madhyamam, Chandrika and Thejas since 1995. Currently, he is an artist in Chandrika. He has published a graphic novel ‘Gulfum Padi PO’. He is the recipient of State Institute for Children’s Institute, AS Illustration Award and Electoon Award of Cartoon Academy

Saikat Majumdar is a novelist and critic. He was educated in India and in the United States, where he taught for several years, most recently at Stanford University, before returning to India. He teaches courses in modern and contemporary world literature in English, critical theory, the novel and narrative, colonial and postcolonial studies, and fiction and nonfiction writing. Saikat is the author of five books- most recently, the novel The Scent of God (Simon & Schuster, 2019), and College: Pathways of Possibility (Bloomsbury, 2018), a book on undergraduate education in India written for a general audience.

A native of Puthumala in Wayanad who lost her house in the flood last year. Her house was completely destroyed in the disaster. At present, she lives in a rented house in Meppadi.

Salil Misra acquired his master’s degree in Modern Indian History from the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, from where he went on to do a Ph.D on Communal Politics in UP, 1937-39 under the supervision of Prof. Bipan Chandra. His publications include a monograph on A Narrative of Communal Politics: Uttar Pradesh, 1937-39 and a small booklet in Hindi on Swaraj Party brought out by the National Book Trust. The booklet was a part of NBT’s mission to popularize the Indian National Movement among the rural audiences through a series of small booklets written in Indian languages. He has also published articles on themes related to communal politics, language questions, Hindi and Urdu, partition of India, social science teaching and identity politics. He has also been invited by the UP History Congress, Punjab History Congress and the Andhra Pradesh History Congress to deliver presidential addresses. He is the general president of the UP History Congress for the year 2019. Salil Misra taught history at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi from 1984 till 1987. During 1988-2010 he was a faculty member at the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi.

Salil Misra was involved in the collection of documents for the research project ‘Towards Freedom’ for the year 1942, sponsored by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), as member of the editorial team along with Prof. Bipan Chandra and Dr. Visalakshi Menon (led by Prof. Bipan Chandra). The volume has recently been published. During April-July 2009 he was a visiting researcher at the Centre for History of Emotions, Max-Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin. Currently he is professor of history, and the Pro Vice Chancellor at the Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD).

A native of Kasaragod, Santhosh Echikkanam is a popular short story writer and a script writer. He completed graduation in Malayalam and PG Diploma in journalism. He has won many honours including Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Padmaprabha Award, Akbar Kakkattil Award, Karur Janmashatabdi Award, Pravasi Basheer Award, Padmarajan Award, Bhasha Sahitya Parishad Award and Cherukad Award among others.

His major books include Ottavathil, Kathapathrangalum Pankeduthavarum, Oru Chithrakathayila, Nattukkar, Komala, Naranayum Paravayayum, Pakal Swapnathil Veyilukayan Vanna Oru Nari, Swasam and Biriyani. He penned the script of movies like Nidra, Annayum Rasoolum, Bachelor Party, Njan Steve Lopez, Idukki Gold, Chandrettan Evideya and Aby.

Satish Padmanabhan is executive editor at Outlook magazine. He has been a journalist for about 25 years, with stints in both in print and television.

He started off with Sunday magazine, moving on to Business World and The Economic Times. He then switched to television news with TV-18 and CNBC.
He was news editor at NDTV for about five years before joining Outlook. He has covered business, politics, news, features and culture in his career. His other interests are travel, films and food.

An advocate, communist thinker and media critic. He practices in high court and supreme court. He was former MLA and MP from Ernakulam. He presented the show ‘Madhyamavicharam’ for 8 years in Kairali TV. He was elected as MP in Lok Sabha bypolls in 1997 and 2003 and Lok Sabha polls in 2004. He was an MLA during the period 1998-2001. He also was a member of Press Council.

A product of Gujarat, New York, Bombay and the mountains, she is every bit as confused about her identity as this sentence confusing you. A one-time writer, part-time comic and full-time digital agency diva. Hard to pick, when there is so much to do.

Shireen Quadri is the founder and publisher of The Punch Magazine, a monthly digital magazine of literature, arts and culture. She has worked with several publishing houses. Occasionally, she reviews books for Scroll.in and The New Indian Express. She also writes on food, hospitality, travel, literature, arts and culture.

Hailing from Paluvai of Thrissur, Shoukath Sahajotsu is a writer, orator, traveller and the disciple of Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yati. He had spent about four years serving Nitya Chaitanya Yati in the ashram at Fern Hill in Ooti. At present, he lives in Karamadai near Coimbatore.

He has penned a number of books including Bhakti – Yatiyude Nirvachanam, Daivathinu Oru Thuranna Kathu, Nithyantharangam, Mozhiyazham, Athmavil Ninnum Jeevithathilekku, Snehadaram, Sahajamaya Vazhi, Ramana Maharshi, Nooru Dhyanangal, Kabeer and Jeevitham Paranjath.

He won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for best travelogue for the book ‘Himalayam – Yathrakalude Oru Pusthakam’ in 2007.

Sree Parvathy is one of the noted young writers in Malayalam. She is also a journalist. Her major works are Meenukal Chumbikkunnu and Mystic Mountain.

Writer and director. She worked as assistant director of Sathyan Anthikkad from the movie ‘Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka’. She became associate director from the movie ‘Bhagyadevatha’. Later, she directed the movie ‘Love 24×7’. Her major works are Sylvia Plathinte Masterpeice and 19 Canal Road. She won Kerala State Film Award for best debut director and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for best hunour writing in 2005.

A sports broadcaster with a strong passion and knowledge of sports, Sreeduth S Pillai has hosted major sporting events including the Rio Olympics, ‘Fourth Umpire’ and ‘Cricket Live’ on national television besides his stint as a commentator. He is a management consultant, quiz show host, columnist and a noted percussionist as well. Has worked in various corporate organizations across different sectors and has handled various portfolios including corporate sales and key account management, product and brand management among others. He is currently the Managing Partner of his entrepreneurial venture ‘les mentors’; a firm into consulting and training, based in Chennai.

Sreekandan Nair is a noted visual media anchor. Presently, he is the managing director of Flowers TV-Insight Media City. He entered into visual media by anchoring the programme ‘Nimisham’ in Doordarshan. He gained fame after hosting the show Nammal Thammil telecast in Asianet channel. He has worked as a consultant for Mazhavil Manorama channel. He was the anchor of the programme Samadooram in Manorama News channel and the talk show Sreekandan Nair Show in Surya TV. At present, he is the host of the talk show ‘Sreekandan Nair Show’ in Flowers TV.

Sreekanth Kottakkal is a journalist in Mathrubhumi. He has been reporting Jaipur Literature Festival for Mathrubhumi for five years. His important works include Indian Yathrakal, Gandhi Nadanna Vazhikaliloode, Oru Anthikattukarante Lokangal (biography of director Sathyan Anthikkad), Bengal Manpathakalum Manushyarum and Manushyar Prapanchangal.

Sreekumaran Thampi is a poet, lyricist, producer, music composer and director. An engineering graduate, he worked as assistant town planner in Kozhikode. His debut collection of poetry was published in 1960. He penned songs for Akashavani Thiruvananthapuram and Madras stations. His selected 1001 songs were published as a book titled ‘Hridayasarass’. He penned lyrics for over 270 movies. He also wrote story for 40 films and screenplay for 85 films, directed 30 movies and produced 25 movies.

He won several awards including J C Daniel Award, Kerala State Film Award for lyricist, Kerala State Film Award for popular movie, Film Fans Award, Film Critics Award, Filmfare Award, Prem Nazir Award, Mooloor Award, Krishnageethi Award, Pravasa Kairali Award and Thakazhi Award.

His noted works include Kakkathampuratti, Kuttanadu, Engineerude Veena, Neelathamara, En Makan Karayumbol and Seershakamaillatha Kavithakal. He also penned the book ‘Cinema-Kanakkum Kavithayum’ which won the national award for best book on cinema.

Sreenivasan is a well-known actor, script writer and director in Malayalam film industry. He hails from Thalassery. He holds a Diploma in Acting from Madras Film Chambers Institute where superstar Rajinikanth was his classmate.

Sreenivasan has bagged a number of state and national awards for script, acting and direction. He entered the film industry by playing a role in ‘Manimuzhakkam’ directed by P A Backer in 1977. After acting in a few movies, he wrote story for the movie ‘Odaruthammava Aalariyam’ in 1984.

He wrote screenplay for movies including Katha Parayumbol, Udayananu Tharam, Ayal Kathayezhuthukayanu, Mazhayethum Munpe, Sandesham, Varavelppu, Mukundetta Sumithra Vilikkunnu, Pattanapravesham, Vellanakalude Nadu, Sanmanassullavarkk Samadhanam and T P Gopalan MA.

He scripted and directed the movies Vadakkunokki Yanthram and Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala. He also acted in many movies including Gandhi Nagar Second Street, Nadodikkattu, Vadakkunokki Yanthram, Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala, Udayananu Tharam and Katha Parayumbol.

Sudeep Chakravarti is an award-winning author of bestselling works of narrative non-fiction. His latest book is Plassey: The Battle that Changed the Course of Indian History. His other notable non-fiction works include The Bengalis: A Portrait of Community (shortlisted for The Hindu Prize, and Tata Literature Live! Award), Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country (shortlisted for the Crossword award), Highway 39, and Clear.Hold.Build (winner of the Prize for Excellence at Asian Publishing Awards). He has written three critically acclaimed novels (Tin Fish, The Avenue of Kings, and The Baptism of Tony Calangute) and short stories and works of non-fiction for several collections. His work has been translated into various languages including Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Spanish, Portuguese and German.

An extensively published columnist, he has over three decades of experience in media, and has worked with major global and Indian media organizations including the Asian Wall Street Journal, where he began his career, and held leadership positions at Sunday, India Today, the India Today Group, and HT Media.

Sudeep read history at St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. He is co-founder of Coastal Impact, an organization of divers and scientists which researches institutions, and evangelizes marine conservation to school and university students. He lives in Goa.

Suja Susan George, a native of Kottayam, is the director of Malayalam Mission. She has worked as a college professor. She is the director board member of SPCS. She writes poems, articles and reviews and has published books.

Sunetra Choudhury has 20 years of experience in journalism with 17 of them in Broadcast. Her career has been spent in New Delhi Television (NDTV) and The Indian Express. She is the Political Editor and senior anchor with NDTV since 2003.

She was the deputy chief reporter with the Indian Express news team during 1999-2002. She has awarded with Jefferson Fellow 2018, Winner of Mary Morgan Hewett Award 2018, Winner Red Ink award for health reporting 2016, and Thomson Reuters fellowship at Cardiff University, UK 2008.

Choudhury is the author of two bestselling books Braking News (Hachette,2010), a political travelogue on the 2009 general elections and Behind Bars: Prison Tales of India’s Most Famous (Roli, 2017) which has been translated to Hindi, Marathi and Telegu edition. She is currently working on her third book.

Suresh Keezhattoor is the leader of Vayalkili, a farmers’ organisation that protested against paddy field levelling in Keezhattoor of Kannur for bypass construction. He was a CPM worker but parted ways with it due to differences of opinion.

T K Rajeev Kumar is a National Award winning film director. He was born in Kottayam and currently resides in Thiruvananthapuram. He is also known as a show director, theatre actor and Mridangam percussionist. He was the Chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and the Director of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) from 2003 to 2006 and was the vice-chairman of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy.

He was nominated as Jury chairman for Kerala State Film Awards in 2007. He was a member of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the general council of Film and Television Institute in Pune. He started his Malayalam film career as an Assistant Director with the Navodaya Production Company and associated in the making of India’s first 3D film ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’. ‘Chanakyan’ is his directorial debut.

His other noted films include Pavithram, Thacholi Varghese Chekavar, Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu, Jalamaramaram, Sesham, Ivar, Oru Naal Varum, Rathinirvedam and Thalsamayam Oru Penkutty. He has received numerous honours including National Film Award for the best environmental film, Kerala State Film Awards for best film, Padmarajan Award, Kerala Film Critics Award, Mathrubhumi Film Award, Sanatharam Award and Gulf Malayali Award.

T K Santhosh kumar is a journalist, author and television presenter. He is presently the head of Malayalam and mass communication dept at thumbs st. Xavier’s college. He was the producer and presenter of the popular television satire nadakame ulakam. Have penned 13 books including kazhchayude rasantharangal, first history book on Malayalam television named malayala television charithram 1985-2013. This and another article titled enthukondu censor cheyyanam had bagged state government’s television award. Writes and gives speeches on Malayalam cinema in the age of social media. Was a member of the jury for international documentary and short film festival conducted by chalachithra academy.

T P Rajeevan is a noted writer in South India. He hails from Paleri in Kozhikode. He was a journalist in Delhi and also worked as Public Relations Officer in University of Calicut. He writes in both English and Malayalam languages and his works are translated into 14 languages including French, Polish and Italian.

He contributes to leading publications in English and Malayalam. Vathil, Rashtrathanthram, Koritharicha Nal, Vayalkkare Ippozhillatha, Kannaki, He who was Gone Thus, Athe Aakasham Athe Bhoomi, Purapettu Pokunna Vakku, KKN Kottoor: Ezhuthum Jeevithavum, Kriyasesham and A Midnight Murder Story are his noted works.

A Midnight Murder Story was later published in Malayalam under the title ‘Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha’ in 2008. It was later adapted into movie and won several awards.

T P Senkumar is a retired IPS officer. He was born in 1957 in Thrissur. He joined Indian Economic Service before joining Indian Police Service of Kerala cadre in 1983. He came to media attention after taking action in LIS financial fraud case.

He was appointed as the MD of KSRTC in 2006 and Kerala Transport Commissioner in 2010. He has served as ADGP of Intelligence wing and became the state police chief in 2015. He was appointed as the head of Police Housing Construction Corporation in 2016.

Later, he was reinstated as DGP in 2017 following a court verdict and he retired in the same year. He was awarded the President’s Medal for Distinguished service in 2009.

Pattabhiraman is one of the leading textile businessmen in the country. He arrived in Thrissur at the age of 21 and started Kalyan Silks. The textile group has around 29 showrooms and four hypermarkets in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Oman and UAE. He has bagged many honours for his excellence in business.

Tanya Abraham worked as a journalist and is the author of two books on history. Her latest book on food culture was published last month, titled Eating with History, Ancient foreign trade influenced culture of Kerala. She is also an art curator and is currently doing a PhD in Curating at the Zurich University of the Arts.She is the recepient of numerous awards including the South Indian Women Achievers Award 2019.

Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan is a veteran Congress leader and former minister. A native of Kottayam, he completed graduation in law and started practicing as advocate in Kottayam bar since 1976.

He was an MLA representing Aroor from 1991 to 2006 and was elected from Kottayam in 2011. He was a minister in 2004 and 2011 cabinets.

Thomas Sehested has written extensively on India and published the book India – The World’s Next Great Power in 2010. For 10 years he has worked with branding and communication in India. He is currently the Director of the Danish Cultural Institute, Delhi.

Tony Joseph is the author of the best-selling ‘Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From’, published by Juggernaut in December 2018. The critically-acclaimed book has already won the Tata Literature Live! Book of the Year Award for non-fiction; the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize; and the Atta Galatta Book Prize for non-fiction.

Tony was the Editor of BusinessWorld magazine, Associate Editor of Business Standard and Features Editor of The Economic Times at various times during his journalism career of over three decades. He has also been a columnist and contributor to leading publications and has written many path-breaking articles on India’s prehistory. He lives near New Delhi and is working on his next book.

Tziona Shamay is director of the Helicon Poetry Society and Sha’ar International Poetry Festival based in Tel Aviv. She previously worked as Director of the Hebrew Writers’ Association until 2001 when she took up her current position. The Helicon Poetry Society, a non-profit organisation founded in 1990, promotes appreciation of poetry, acts as a training centre for emerging Israeli poets, fosters communication and sharing among poets writing in the various languages of Israel, particularly Hebrew and Arabic, runs international poetry translation workshops and initiates interactive ventures between poetry and other art forms.

Congress leader and MLA from Paravoor constituency. During his college life, he was union chairman in of MG University. He was first elected as MLA in 2001 assembly polls. He won from the same seat in 2006 and 2011. He served as Congress Whip in the 12th assembly.

Environmentalist, wildlife expert and ornithologist. He is the founder director of Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON). He completed PhD from Bombay University under the guidance of Salim Ali.

V S Vijayan’s report ‘Impact of Hydroelectric Dam on Wildlife in Silent Valley’ was the scientific base for the Save Silent Valley Movement. His study on the Keoladeo National Park helped make the management plan of the park.

Varghese K George is Currently Deputy Resident Editor of The Hindu, in New Delhi. Varghese was earlier political editor of the paper, and between 2015 and 2018, the US representative.

He was Chief of Bureau at Hindustan Times and a Senior Editor with the Indian Express. Vagrhese has been Journalist of the Year, Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism and winner of the Prem Bhatia Award for Excellence in Political Reporting and Analysis. He has an M. Phil in International Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University and an MA in Modern Indian History from Delhi University.

His book Open Embrace: India-US ties in the age of Modi and Trump (Penguin Viking, October 2018) is an exploration of how domestic politics are reshaping the strategic priorities of the world’s oldest and the biggest democracies and their relations.

His great grandfather came from Afghanistan in search of peace. You read that right. A writer, a comedian and a dreamer. An entrepreneur working in the field of branding and marketing. A very positive person, so much that he still believes that “achche din aayenge”.

Veerankutty is a noted post-modernist poet. He is working as a Malayalam professor at Government college in Madappally. His poems have been translated into English, German, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi and Kannada. His major works include Jala Bhoopatam, Thottuthottu Nadakkumbol, Manthrikan, Autograph and Manveeru.

English translation of his poems were published in Poetry International Magazine. He is the recipient of several awards including Cherussery Award, P Kunhiraman Nair Puraskaram, SBT Award, Tamil Nadu CTMA Sahithya Puraskaram and A Ayyappan Poetry Award.

Viju B, assistant editor at The Times of India in Mumbai, writes on a range of issues including environment, civic infrastructure, insurance and right to information. His book, Flood and Fury: Ecological Devastation in the Western Ghats was published in 2019. While working in Mumbai for various national newspapers, he covered the catastrophic 26/7 Mumbai floods, the 26/11 terror attacks and the Gujarat riots. He exposed the Sindhudurg mining scam in the Western Ghats and was part of the core investigative team that exposed the Adarsh Building scam in Mumbai that eventually led to the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. In 2018, he extensively covered the Kerala floods, travelling to the worst-hit areas in the state.

Writer and journalist. Vinu Abraham’s major works include Nashtanayika, Aradhanapoorvam, Sathru, Punyalan Paranju: Adbhuthangalude Kalam Kazhinju, Oru Swadunottakkarante Bhakshana Prayavekshnangal, Daivavala and Kazhuthappulikalude Chiri.

Nashtanayika was later adapted to the movie ‘Celluloid’. He also penned screenplay for the movie ‘Parudheesa’. He bagged many awards including SBT Award, Premji Short Story Award and KA Kodungallur Award.

Yogendra Yadav has served as a professor of Political science at Punjab University, Chandigarh (1985-1993). Between 1995-2002, Yogendra Yadav was the founder-convenor of the Lokniti network and the founder-director of the CSDS Lokniti research programme on comparative democracy between 1997 and 2003.

Since 1996, he has been a psephologist and political analyst as well. Yogendra Yadav has been associated with Lokniti and the Publics and Policies programme of Centre for Study of Developing Studies (CSDS). In 2004, he was appointed a Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.

Yogendra Yadav was appointed as a member of the National Advisory Council for the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act 2010. He has been involved in the revival of survey-based studies of Indian elections, the renewal of the National Election Study series, and the creation of the Lokniti network of scholars.

He has co-authored the book Crafting State-Nations: India and Other Multinational Democracies (2011), and two others on democracy and electoral politics. Yogendra Yadav has written school textbooks and has served on several policy advisory bodies and has served as a member of the University Grants Commission.

In 2012, he joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and served as a member of the National Executive of the party. After leaving AAP in 2015, Yadav along with other activists formed Swaraj Abhiyan. In July 2016, Swaraj Abhiyan formed its political front Swaraj India of which Yogendra Yadav is serving as the National President.