Manu Joseph (born 22 July 1974) is an Indian journalist and writer. He is the former editor of ''

Open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Go ...

'' magazine.

Life and career

Manu was born in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

, and grew up in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. His father Joseph Madappally is a film-maker who directed the

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

film '' Thoranam'' (1987). He is a graduate of

Loyola College, Chennai Loyola College is a government aided private Catholic higher education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1925 by the France, French Jesuits, Jesuit priest, Francis Bertram, along with other ...

, and dropped out of

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

to become a staff writer at ''Society'' magazine. He is a former editor of ''

'' magazine, and a columnist for '' The International New York Times'' and The Hindustan Times. In 2007, he was a Chevening Scholar. He currently lives in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. His debut novel '' Serious Men'' (2010) won The Hindu Literary Prize and the PEN Open Book Award. It has been adapted by

Sudhir Mishra Sudhir Mishra (born 22 January 1959) is an Indian filmmaker. His most notable films include '' Dharavi'' (1992), '' Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (2003), '' Chameli'' (2004), and '' Serious Men'' (2020). His work has been recognised with three nat ...

as a feature film of the same name. His second novel, ''

The Illicit Happiness of Other People ''The Illicit Happiness of Other People'' is a 2012 novel by Manu Joseph. Described by the author as semi-autobiographical, the novel explores the interplay of human psychology, existential nihilism and misanthropy, as well as the complexitie ...

'', was published in September 2012. He also wrote the screenplay for the film '' Love Khichdi'' (2009). In January 2014, Manu resigned as editor of ''Open'' magazine. Manu is the creator and writer of ''Decoupled'', an Indian English-language

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

web series, which was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on 17 December 2021.

Awards and honours

*2010: The Hindu Literary Prize won for '' Serious Men''Benedicte Page
"Manu Joseph's controversial tale of caste wins Indian literary prize"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 2 November 2010. *2010:

Man Asian Literary Prize The Man Asian Literary Prize was an annual literary award between 2007 and 2012, given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year. It is awarded to write ...

shortlisted for ''Serious Men'' *2010: ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

''′s 10 best books of the year for ''Serious Men'' *2011: Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize shortlisted for ''Serious Men'' *2011: PEN Open Book Award won for ''Serious Men'' *2013: The Hindu Literary Prize shortlisted for ''The Illicit Happiness of Other People''

Works

* * *

References

External links

* *
"Can you take it Manu Joseph?"
newslaundry.com, 19 July 2012.

18 September 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Manu 1974 births Journalists from Kerala Writers from Kottayam Living people Loyola College, Chennai alumni Indian male journalists Indian male screenwriters Novelists from Kerala Indian male novelists