Sunny Singh

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

(born 20 May 1969) is an Indian-born academic and writer of fiction and creative non-fiction. She is Professor of Creative Writing and Inclusion in the Arts at

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

Early life and education

Sunny Singh was born in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

, India. Her father's work with the government meant that the family regularly moved, living in cantonments and outposts including

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh () is a city in the Indian state of Assam, located 435 kms east of the state capital Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of the Dibrugarh district in Upper Assam. Dibrugarh also serves as the headquarters of the Sonowal Kach ...

, Along and Teju. The family also followed her father's assignments abroad, living in Pakistan, the United States and Namibia. Singh attended

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

, where she majored in English and American Literature. She holds a master's degree in Spanish Language, Literature and Culture from

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

and a PhD from the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

, Spain.

Career

Singh worked as a journalist and management executive in Mexico, Chile, and South Africa, before returning to India in 1995 to focus on writing. She worked as a freelance writer and journalist until 2002 in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, publishing her first two books in that period. She moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in 2002 to work on her PhD and published her second novel in 2006. Before her appointment as Professor in 2020, Singh was Senior Lecturer and Course Leader in Creative Writing at the

. Singh was the Chairperson of the Authors' Club for some years. In 2016, Singh co-founded the

Jhalak Prize The Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour is an annual literary prize awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers. £1,000 is awarded to the sole winner. The Jhalak Prize was launched in 2016 and was created by writers ...

for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour. The award supports British writers with a one-thousand pound prize. It was initiated by Singh,

Nikesh Shukla Nikesh Shukla (born 8 July 1980) is a British people, British author and screenwriter. His writing focuses on race, racism, identity, and immigration. He is the editor of the 2016 collection of essays ''The Good Immigrant'', which features contr ...

and

Media Diversified Media Diversified was a UK-based nonprofit media and advocacy organisation for writers and journalists of colour, founded by filmmaker Samantha Asumadu in 2013. It published nonfiction articles by a variety of writers at its website, which was updat ...

, with support from The Authors' Club, an anonymous donor, and the Jhalak Foundation which is owned by Singh's family and named after her grandmother. In 2020, a sister award, the Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize, was founded. Singh wrote in

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

in 2020: "I get regular invites to debate on various platforms. I always say no. Because debate is an imperialist capitalist white supremacist cis heteropatriarchal technique that transforms a potential exchange of knowledge into a tool of exclusion & oppression.” In 2021, Singh, along with Monisha Rajesh and

Chimene Suleyman Chimene or Chimène Suleyman is an English writer. She has written on the politics of race and immigration in media including ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'', the BBC and NPR, and co-edited '' The Good Immigrant USA'' in 2019. Personal life ...

, received racist abuse on social media as a result of raising concerns about depictions of autism and of students of colour in

Kate Clanchy Kate Clanchy MBE (born 1965) is a British poet, freelance writer and teacher. Education and early life She was born in 1965 in Glasgow to medieval historian Michael Clanchy and teacher Joan Clanchy (née Milne). She was educated at George Wa ...

's book ''Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me''. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

Literary works

Singh has published three novels, three non-fiction books and numerous short stories and essays. Singh's debut novel, ''Nani's Book of Suicides'', won the Mar De Letras Prize in Spain in 2003. Her novel, ''Hotel Arcadia'', was published by

Quartet Books Naim Ibrahim Attallah (, 1 May 1931 – 2 February 2021) was a Palestinian-British businessman and writer. He was the publisher of Quartet Books and the owner of The Women's Press. The Palestinian-born entrepreneur was described by ''The Guar ...

. Her latest book, ''A Bollywood State of Mind,'' was published on 19 October 2023 by Footnote Press (part of Bonnier Books

Books

* ''Nani's Book of Suicides'', HarperCollins Publishers India (2000), * ''Single in the City'', Penguin Books Australia (2000), * ''With Krishna's Eyes'', Rupa & Co. (2006), * ''Hotel Arcadia'', Quartet Books (2015), * ''Amitabh Bachchan'', British Film Institute (2017), * ''A Bollywood State of Mind'', Footnote Press (2023),

Personal life

Singh lives in London.

References

External links

Official website

Sunny Singh
Staff Profile Page, London Metropolitan University
"Sunny Singh in Conversation with Jacob Ross, Lit Fest Online 2020"
15 May 2020
"Hotel Arcadia - Book Trailer"

A Bollywood State of Mind
publishing 19 October 2023 {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sunny 1969 births 21st-century Indian novelists 21st-century Indian women writers Academics of London Metropolitan University Brandeis University alumni English-language writers from India Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Indian expatriates in Pakistan Indian women novelists Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni Living people Novelists from Uttar Pradesh University of Barcelona alumni Women writers from Uttar Pradesh Writers from Varanasi