Janice Pariat is an Indian poet and writer. She was born in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

and grew up in

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

, Meghalaya.Rao Chaini, Sanjitha (15 October 2012)
"A Tale Can Be Told In Many Ways"
, ''Business World. ''Retrieved 30 August 2013.

Staff writer In journalism, a staff writer byline indicates that the author of the article is an employee of the periodical, as opposed to being an independent freelance writer. In Britain, staff writers may work in the office instead of traveling to cover a ...

(31 August 2013)
"Honoured, says State's 1st Sahitya awardee in English"
''Eastern Chronicle''. Retrieved 31 August 2013. ''Boats on Land'' (Random House India, 2012), her debut collection of short stories, won the 2013

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

Young Writer Award for the English languageSahitya Akademi Press Release
(23 August 2013). Retrieved 30 August 2013. and the 2013

Crossword Book Award The Crossword Book Award (formerly known as the Crossword Book Award (1998–2003), the Hutch Crossword Book Award (2004–07), the Vodafone Crossword Book Award (2008–10), the Economist Crossword Book Award (2011–13), Raymond & Crossword Bo ...

for fiction. Pariat is the first writer from

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

to receive an award from the

for a work in English. Janice bagged the Sushila Devi Award for her latest book 'Everything the light touches' for best fiction 2023. Her latest book 'Everyrhing light touches ' was long listed for JCB Prize for Literature 2023.

Early life and career

Pariat was born in

Jorhat Jorhat ( /) is a major city in Upper Assam division, Upper Assam and among the fastest growing urban centres in the state of Assam in India. Etymology Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and ...

, Assam, and grew up between

and several tea estates in

. She was educated at Loreto Convent, Shillong and The Assam Valley School. Thereafter she obtained a BA in English Literature from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and an MA in History of Art and/or Archaeology from

SOAS, University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, ...

. She is the editor of online literary journal Pyrta, which she founded in 2010. Her writing has featured in a number of Indian and international magazines, such as '' Time Out Delhi'', ''

The Caravan ''The Caravan'' is an Indian English-language, long-form narrative journalism magazine covering politics and culture. It was initially launched in 1940 by Vishwa Nath, becoming a prominent monthly magazine before ceasing publication in 1988. T ...

'' and ''Internazionale''. Pariat teaches Creative Writing and History of Art at

Ashoka University Ashoka University is a private research university located in Sonipat, Haryana, providing a liberal education in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. It was founded in 2014 and is based on the model of collective philanthropy, ...

Awards and honours

In 2013, Pariat's debut collection of short stories ''Boats on Land'' won the

Young Writer Award for the English language, and a

(fiction). The same work was also shortlisted for the 2013 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, and longlisted for the 2013 uday lakhanpal International Short Story Award and the 2013 Tata Literature Live! First Book Award. ''Seahorse'' was shortlisted for

The Hindu Literary Prize ''The Hindu'' Literary Prize or ''The Hindu'' Best Fiction Award, established in 2010, is an Indian literary award sponsored by ''The Hindu Literary Review'' which is part of the newspaper ''The Hindu''. It recognizes Indian works in English and ...

(2015).

Style

In ''Boats on Land'', Pariat's stories – set between

Cherrapunji Cherrapunji () - popularly known as, or Sohra - it's original native and official name, is a sub-divisional town (Proposed District) East Khasi Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It was the traditional capital of ''ka hima Sohra'' ...

and

– undertake fictional re-imaginings of the transformations that swept through

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

during a period of three centuries, starting in the 1850s. Weaving together local folklore and tradition with unfolding social and political events, Pariat's style has been likened to

magical realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical rea ...

(2012)
Book Review: Boats on Land
. ''The Book Outline''. Retrieved 30 August 2013. as well as to

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for hi ...

's writing.

(November 2012)
"Boats on Land"
''First City''. Retrieved 30 August 2013.

Jeet Thayil Jeet Thayil (born 1959) is an Indian poet, novelist, librettist and musician. He is the author of several poetry collections, including ''These Errors Are Correct'' (2008), which won the Sahitya Akademi Award. His first novel, ''Narcopolis (book ...

commented on her stories to be 'revelatory and original'.

Bibliography

Fiction

*''Everything the Light Touches'', HarperCollins, 2022. *''The Nine-Chambered Heart'', HarperCollins India, New Delhi, 2017. *''Seahorse: A novel'', Random House India, New Delhi, 2014. * ''Boats on Land: A collection of short stories'', Random House India, New Delhi, 2012.

Poetry

*
The Yellow Nib Modern English Poetry by Indians
' (

Sudeep Sen Sudeep Sen (born 1964) is an Indian English poet and editor. Early life He was educated at St. Columba's School in Delhi and received a degree in English literature from Hindu College, University of Delhi. He received a master's degree from ...

ed.),

Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry The Seamus Heaney Centre is located at Queen's University Belfast, and named after the late Seamus Heaney, recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Heaney graduated from Queens in 1961 with a First Class Honours in English language and l ...

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, 2011 . * ''Kavi Kala: The Visual Poetry Project'' (Madness Manali ed.), Cinnamon Teal Print and Publishing, Goa, 2010.

Anthology

* ''We Come From Mist: Writings from Meghalaya'', Zubaan, New Delhi, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pariat, Janice Women writers from Meghalaya English-language writers from India Living people Indian women poets St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Poets from Meghalaya 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian poets People from Jorhat district People from Shillong Poets from Assam Women writers from Assam Year of birth missing (living people) People associated with Shillong