Prajwal Parajuly (né Sharma; born 24 October 1984) is an Indian writer whose works focus on
Nepali-speaking people and their culture. Parajuly's works include the short-story collection ''
The Gurkha's Daughter
The Gurkha's Daughter is a collection of short stories by Indian author Prajwal Parajuly, describing and dramatizing the experiences of Nepali-speaking people and the Nepali diaspora. The ''Hindustan Times'' described it as the "best short story ...
'' and novel ''
Land Where I Flee''.
Early life
Parajuly grew up in the
Gangtok
Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the East Sikkim district, Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an e ...
,
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
region of northeastern India. His father is Indian and his mother Nepalese. He was educated at
Truman State University
Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs.
The university is named for U.S. Presiden ...
in
Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 census. Kirksville is home to two colleges: Truman State University and A.T. Still University.
...
, and the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
. Before committing to a writing career, he worked as an advertising executive at ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''.
Career
In September 2011, Parajuly became the youngest Indian author to be offered a two-book, multi-country deal. He was signed by
Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
.
He published his first book in 2012: a short story collection with the title ''The Gurkha's Daughter: Stories''. Describing and dramatizing the experiences of the Nepalese people and the Nepalese diaspora, his debut book was shortlisted for the 2013
Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...
and longlisted for
The Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first p ...
that same year.
Parajuly's second book, the novel ''Land Where I Flee'', came out in 2013. It was an ''Independent on Sunday'' book of the year and a ''
Kansas City Star
''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...
'' best book of 2015. It was translated and published in French in 2020 and was nominated the same year for the Debut Novel Prize and a finalist for the
Émile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature.
He was the first writer-in-residence at The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies in 2013. In 2016, Prajwal Parajuly was invited to be a judge for the Dylan Thomas Prize.
Prajwal Parajuly has written for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.