Omair Ahmad received his early education at international schools in Saudi Arabia and in India. He has degrees in international politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and Syracuse University in New York, and has worked in the US, UK and India with organisations such as the Center for Strategic & International Studies, Voice of America, British High Commission, Centre for Policy Research, the Conservative Party and Outlook magazine. His first novel, Encounters, about the story of a young man growing up in a North Indian university town in the backdrop of religious politics, riots and curfews, was published in 2007.

Sarayu Srivatsa trained as an architect and city planner at the Madras and Tokyo universities. She was the editor of Indian Architect and Builder and has written extensively on the evolution and growth of cities in newspapers and journals. Her book Where the Streets Lead was published in 1997 and won the JIIA Award. In 1996 she collaborated with the late poet and writer, Dom Moraes, on a series of scripts on India for Channel 4.

In 2002 she won the Picador-Outlook non-fiction writing award. She has co-authored two books with Dom Moraes: The Long Strider is part biography, part travelogue and tells the extraordinary story of Thomas Coryate's 5000-mile journey on foot to India. Out of God's Oven is based on firsthand accounts of terrible landmarks in recent Indian history. It maps India's fault lines. Out of God's Oven was nominated for the Kiriyama Prize.

The Last Pretence is Sarayu Srivatsa's first work of fiction. She is currently working on her next novel.

Karan Bajaj lives in Minneapolis, US, where he works as a brand manager for a major consumer goods company. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore in 2002 where he was selected as one of the top ten young business leaders of India by the Aditya Birla Foundation. He has lived and worked in India, Philippines, Singapore and US, and was nominated a ‘Top 40 under 40 US marketer’ by Advertising Age in 2007. He is 27 years old.

Shailaja Bajpai has been working as a journalist since 1984. She has had assignments with The Times of India, the India Today Group and The Indian Express where she has worked on and off since 1988. She has been writing a media column, Telescope, for The Indian Express for 15 years. Currently she works at The Indian Express in a senior editorial position. Along with her journalistic pursuits, Bajpai has been involved with media research and written several monographs on television related subjects, including children and media violence. She co-authored a book, The Impact of TV Advertising on Children.

Rajorshi Chakraborti grew up in Calcutta and Bombay. He received the Philip Larkin Prize upon graduating from Hull University and completed a Ph.D in African and Indian Literature at the University of Edinburgh and continues to teach Literature and Creative Writing at the University. His first novel Or the Day Seizes You, was published by Penguin India in February 2006. Rajorshi has published stories in various journals including the Edinburgh Review, Textualities and Canto XXVI. His second novel, Derangements, is due to be released by HarperCollins India in July 2008.

Or the day Seizes You was shortlisted for the Hutch-Crossword Book Award, 2006, the premier English-language fiction prize in India

Jose Y. Dalisay Jr. was born in the Philippines in 1954. He writes in both English and Filipino and has published fifteen books of his stories, plays and essays, five of which have received the National Book Award from the Manila Critics Circle. He graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1984 and then received an MFA from the University of Michigan (1988) and a Ph.D in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1991) on a Fulbright-Hays grant. Dalisay teaches English and Creative Writing as professor at the University of the Philippines. He has been a Hawthornden Castle, British Council, David Wong and Rockefeller (Bellagio) Fellow, and has lectured on Philippine culture and politics at the Universities of Michigan and Auckland, the Australia National University, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, St. Norbert College, University of East Anglia, University of Rome, and the London School of Economics, among others.

Jose's novel Soledad's Sister, to be published by Anvil Publishers in the Philippines in July 2008, was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize.

Rani Dharker's first novel, The Virgin Syndrome, received critical acclaim and was on the shortlist of the Commonwealth (Euro-Asian) Awards. Her short stories and articles have appeared in a number of magazines and journals. She has written and illustrated a book for children called Champaner and the Magic Mountain Pavagadh. She left her job as Professor of English Literature at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, in order to write full time. For eight years, she wrote a column for the Baroda Times called 'The D(h)arker View'. She was Assistant Editor of Arre magazine, and is Text Editor of 24K, a magazine for NRIs. Rani has acted in and directed a number of plays. She is an activist for animal rights and the environment.

Delhi Noir is part of a groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories from a different city in the world, each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city. Delhi Noir is a collection of new stories by established and new writers.  It is edited by Hirsh Sawhney. "Noir digs deep into a city, sheds light on social disparity but makes it palatable for a reader. Noir is sexy and seedy with a serious edge to it. Delhi is perfect for noir because it has that sexy seediness and the deep injustices that everyone ignores." Hirsh Sawhney, Tehelka.

Hirsh Sawhney's writing has appeared in The Times Literary Supplement, Financial Times, Guardian, Time Out New York, Outlook, Indian Express and Helsinki's Vihrea Lanka. He is a Contributing Editor for The Brooklyn Rail and London's Wasafiri Magazine. He has worked as a Spanish-English translator for the Independent Press Association of New York and the Pew Foundation’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. As an educator, he has taught English to asylum seekers in London and directed a Brooklyn-based adult education program serving undocumented Latino immigrants. He has been an adjunct professor at the City University of New York and New School University.

Amrita Kumar studied philosophy at Delhi University. She is a publishing professional and has worked as associate editor Penguin India, editor-in-chief Roli Books, and managing editor Encyclopedia Britannica, besides freelancing with Rupa & Co. and Harper Collins. In addition she has been a copywriter with one of India’s leading advertising agencies, research writer at the Department of Culture, Govt. of India, editor of a design and interiors magazine, and an editor with The Times of India. She lives in New Delhi. This is her first novel.

Madhulika Liddle lives in New Delhi, India, where she works as an instructional designer with a multinational IT company’s e-learning division. Madhulika has been writing fiction for several years, and her short stories have won her awards, including The Oxfordbookstore-Reader’s Digest e Author Contest, the Commonwealth Short Story Competition 2003 and the Femina Thriller Contest 2001. Her short story, `Murk of Art’, a detective story set in 17th century Mughal Delhi, was published as part of an anthology entitled `21 under 40’, by Zubaan Books, in March 2007. Madhulika is also a travel writer; one of the top contributors in the Rough Guides Travel community. Articles on her travels have been published across various publications, including Lounge and the Saturday edition of the business newspaper, Mint.

Saeed Akhtar Mirza is a pioneer of the New Wave, progressive cinema in India. His films, including Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978), Albert Pinto ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai? (1980), Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho (1984), Salim Langde pe Mat Ro (1989) and Naseem (1995), have all won major awards including the National Awards for film excellence in India. He also directed the popular TV serials Nukkad (1986) and Intezaar (1988). Mirza trained at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, and has also taught there. He has lectured widely on Indian cinema at universities in India and the US. He contributes regularly to Indian newspapers and magazines on current political debates and through film reviews. He lives in Bombay and Goa.

Published in January 2008 by Tranquebar Press and Westland books

"This book is a page turner…. (His parents') love story carries total conviction. And so does every word in this book. Mirza writes only of those things that he holds most dear, and that he stands for" Gillian Wright, India Today

Ira Pande worked as a university teacher for fifteen years, and then as an editor at Seminar, Biblio, the literary magazine, Dorling Kindersley and Roli Books. She has done some work for television and has acted in the award-winning film Monsoon Wedding. She is the daughter of well-known Hindi writer Shivani; a connection that perhaps brings authenticity and strength to her translation of her mother's work. Her biography of her mother, Diddi, written after her death in 2003, was published to much critical acclaim by Penguin India. In this translation of Appradhini (The Sinner), she brings one of Shivani's most powerful works to readers.

Diddi was shortlisted for the 2006 Hutch-Crossword Prize for Non-fiction, India's premier literary prize.

About Shivani

'Shivani' was the pseudonym adopted by the Hindi writer Gaura Pant (1923-2003). Born in Rajkot, and educated in Shantiniketan, she was fluent in Gujarati and Bengali. However, she chose to write in Hindi and emerged as an immensely popular writer of novels and short stories. During the sixties and seventies, she attained an almost cult status when her hugely popular novels were published as serials in Dharmayug and Saptahik Hindustan, two of the most popular Hindi literary magazines of those days. Apart from a formidable body of fiction, Shivani's essays, portraits and travelogues offer an interesting glimpse of her life and times. Her most famous works include Chaudah Phere, Krishnakali, Lal Haveli, Smashan Champa, Bharavi, Rati Vilap and Vishkanya. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1981 for her contribution to Hindi literature.

Charlson Ong has published three collections of short fiction: Men of the East and Other Stories, Woman of Amkaw and Other Stories, Conversion and Other Fictions, and a novel, Embarrassment of Riches. He was born, raised and continues to live in Manila, Philippines, where he teaches creative writing at the Department of English and Comparative Literature, University of the Philippines. He is also a Resident Fellow of the UP Institute of Creative Writing.

Jerry Rao studied at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, and the University of Chicago. He was Head of the Development Division of Citicorp and Chairman and CEO of Transaction Technologies Inc., based in California, before he went on to found the software company Mphasis Corporation, in 1998. The company subsequently merged with BFL Software in 2000 to form Mphasis-BFL, with twin headquarters in Santa Monica, California, and Bangalore, India. Rao was Winner of the ‘Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ in the technology category in two locations (India and New York) and of the University of Chicago’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Rao is a regular writer and speaker. He writes a fortnightly column for the Indian Express and a weekly column for the Economic Times. A native of Bangalore, Rao is married with three children.

Navtej Sarna was born in Jalandhar, India. After studying Commerce and Law at Delhi University, he joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1980. He is presently the Spokesperson for the Foreign Office in Delhi and has earlier served as a diplomat in Moscow, Warsaw, Thimphu, Geneva, Tehran and Washington DC. His first novel “We Weren’t Lovers Like That” was published by Penguin India in 2003 and has been translated into Arabic and Hindi. He is also the author of two non-fiction works- “The Book of Nanak” (Viking 2003) and “Folk Tales of Poland” (Sterling 1991). Navtej Sarna has contributed regularly to major Indian newspapers and magazines for the last three decades. His short stories have been broadcast over the BBC World Service and published in the London Magazine, Illustrated Weekly of India and UK anthologies Signals/ Signals 2 as well as Indian anthologies, First Proof (Penguin) and New Indian Writing (Harper Collins). His book reviews appear in the Times Literary Supplement, Biblio, Outlook and other journals. He writes a regular literary column “Second Thoughts” in The Hindu.

Sheela Reddy started as a sub-editor with the Indian Express in 1977. She has had the privilege of writing on all aspects of India’s exciting growth: society, governance, health and women’s issues, culture, interviews with politicians, writers, social leaders and ordinary men and women thrust into extraordinary roles. Her writing career spans a stint in Mainstream, eight years as editor-in-chief of a global Women’s Feature Service, and political bureau chief of the Asian Age. For the last seven years, she has been the books editor of the leading weekly magazine, Outlook, where she has written extensively on books, writers and the publishing business. She is credited with having started the first ‘gossip column’ in publishing in India, Bibliofile. Her writing has appeared in several anthologies, including Penguin India’s First Proof and Chasing the Good Life, and in literary magazines.

Shalini Saran  studied English Literature at Miranda House, University of Dehi, and later did her Masters from the University of Allahabad. She was an editor with Vikas Publishing House before branching into freelance writing and photography.  She has held two solo exhibitions of her photographs. She has published articles and feature stories on travel and cultural subjects in several magazines since 1980, and has also authored illustrated books on Mughal architecture, and destination books on Delhi and Haridwar. One of her short stories was included in an anthology of new Indian writing published by Kali for Women in 1992.