Writers

British writer, historian, academician Patrick French died in London at 56

British writer, historian and academician Patrick French died in London after battling cancer for four years on Thursday, his family said. French, best known for his biography of VS Naipaul, "The World Is What It Is", and "India: A Portrait", died at 8 am (London time), his wife Meru Gokhale said. "At 8.10 am this morning my beloved husband Patrick French passed away in London after a brave battle with cancer. He was an exceptional father, friend, husband, teacher and mentor to many. His kindness and love will stay with us forever. He went in peace, without suffering," Gokhale, former publisher at the Penguin Press Group, said. Among those who sent in their tributes were Congress MP and author Shashi Tharoor, and historians William Dalrymple and Ramachandra Guha.

Coffee with BS: Meet Sudha Murty, the technocrat-turned-children's writer

Murty, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan last week, tells Chintan Girish Modi why she thinks kids connect with her as a grandmother

Author Kuldeep Jakhar is keen to try scriptwriting, wants to write a script for the non-fiction genre

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A panoramic history of the cell

Pulitzer Prize winner Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Song of The Cell is a beautifully crafted exposition of the author's own lifelong fascination with the subject

Epic endings: Mahabharata's final chapters

Eminent Indologist Wendy Doniger's latest book focuses on the final days of the protagonists of the epic and makes their stories come alive with different meanings

US sanctions Iranian group that put bounty on Salman Rushdie's life

The US is imposing financial penalties on an Iranian-based organization that raised money to target British-American author Salman Rushdie, who was violently attacked in August at a literary event. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the 15 Khordad Foundation, which issued a multimillion-dollar bounty for the killing of Rushdie. He wrote The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims consider blasphemous. Rushdie's agent says the author has lost sight in one eye and the use of a hand as he recovers from an attack by a man who rushed the stage at the event in western New York. The United States will not waver in its determination to stand up to threats posed by Iranian authorities against the universal rights of freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of the press, said Brian Nelson, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. This act of violence, which has been praised by the Iranian regime, is appalling. We all hope fo

Rushdie lost sight in an eye, use of one hand after Aug attack: Report

Salman Rushdie has lost his sight in one eye and the use of one hand after the attack he suffered while preparing to deliver a lecture in the US' New York state two months ago, his agent has confirmed

Self-publishing picks up among children, young adults; few go mainstream

Self-publishing picks up among the young; mainstream book deals remain largely elusive

Nobel Prize in Literature 2022: A look at past 10 awardees and their work

With this year's Annie Ernaux, Nobel has now 17 women among its 119 literature laureates

Future of Hindi literature set to prosper: Booker winner Geetanjali Shree

Geetanjali Shree, the first Hindi litterateur to receive the International Booker Prize, talks in an interview to Sandeep Kumar on many topics including the impact of this award

Echoes of many partitions

Aanchal Malhotra evocatively recreates the emotional responses of survivors and subsequent generations

The relevance of Kautilya

The central message of this book is that Kautilya's advice, suggestions and recommendations are still relevant

Sanjeev Kumar: In Memoriam

A set of essays by the great actor's relatives and associates offers interesting anecdotes about the man but not enough about his craft

Attack on Rushdie a reminder of the constant threat of fanaticism: Authors

Even as author Salman Rushdie is on the road to recovery after a murderous attack on him on August 12 in New York, it has birthed another sharp debate in these already polarised times

Salman Rushdie 'off the ventilator; talking and joking' a day after attack

Rushdie, 75, suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and an eye, Wylie said on Friday evening. He was likely to lose the injured eye

J K Rowling receives death threat over her tweet on Salman Rushdie attack

J.K. Rowling, who is known for the 'Harry Potter' series, recently received a public threat from an Iran-backing extremist, following her denunciation of the attack on fellow author Salman Rushdie

Writers condemn attack on Rushdie, stress on upholding freedom of speech

Geetanjali Shree, the first Indian to join the esteemed club of International Booker-winning authors, described the attack on Rushdie as an "inexcusable and inhuman" act.

Ruskin Bond recalls the first time he saw the Tricolour being hoisted

Forget about the politics and religious conflicts, I always see the history of India as the evolution of the different class strata - upper, middle, and the working classes, he says

Hindi, Hindu sans Hindutva

A fascinating account shows how much of the maverick writer and polymath's thinking was rooted in cosmopolitanism

In light of India

A collection of youthful letters from her year in the country hints at the ideas that eventually shape Wendy Doniger's research and prolific writing