Shahnaz Habib is an Indian essayist, fiction writer, travel writer, and translator based in the United States of America. She teaches writing at

Bay Path University Bay Path University is a private university in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Bay Path offers both all-women bachelor's degree programs (both on-campus and online), co-educational master's degree programs (both on-campus and online), an occupational ...

and

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

, and works as a consultant for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. In 2018, she received the

JCB Prize for Literature JCB Prize for Literature is an Indian literary award established in 2018. It is awarded annually with prize to a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer working in English or translated fiction by an Indian writer. The winners will be an ...

Biography

Habib grew up in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

and is currently based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Her poem ''

Of Hypocrisy and Cheekbones "Of Hypocrisy and Cheekbones" is an Indian poem by the Indian English writer and translator Shahnaz Habib. The poem won First Prize in the Ninth All India Poetry Competition conducted by The Poetry Society (India) in 2000. Excerpts from the poem ...

'' won the First Prize in the Ninth ''National Poetry Competition'' in 2000 organized by

The Poetry Society (India) The Poetry Society (India) was formed in July 1984 at New Delhi as a voluntary association to promote Indian poetry and to look after the interests of Indian Poets. The founding members included the Indian poets Keshav Malik, J P Das, H K Kaul ...

in collaboration with British Council. Her short story "Something Special About Sayyida" was selected for the anthology ''21 under 40.'' Her essays, travel writing, and criticism have appeared in ''

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 Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

Afar Afar may refer to: Peoples and languages *Afar language, an East Cushitic language *Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia Places Horn of Africa *Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia *Afar Region, a region ...

'', the anthology ''Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers'', and many other publications. Her work has twice been named to the Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction list by the '' Best American Essays'' series.

Awards

Her English translation of the novel ''Jasmine Days'', from the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

original by the author Benyamin, won the 2018

, which each year recognizes a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer working in English or translated fiction by an Indian writer.

Notes

External links

*''PaperPlanes'' (22/02/2019)
Interview : Conversations with men and women of wit, humour and letters

“Apropos of Nothing” – Shahnaz Habib in ''The New Yorker''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habib, Shahnaz American women writers of Indian descent English-language poets from India Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women writers Writers from Brooklyn All India Poetry Prize

Biography

Awards

See also

Notes

External links