5 - 7 December 2019 , Thu - Sat.
Kiran Budkuley
Kiran Budkuley is a critic, poet and translator who works from/into English, Hindi, Konkani, and Marathi. The areas of her research are Culture and Gender Studies, Konkani Literature, Folklore, and Translation Studies. Her articles have appeared in reputed journals, and her poems and general articles are published in well-circulated magazines. Some of her well-known books are: Sahitya Niyaal: Antarang ani Kayarupaam (1998); Samikshekaden Ishtagat (1998) Akshar-Sarita (2009); Mapping the Mosaic of Culture (2009); and Musings in the Meadows (2012). She has several edited volumes and translations to her credit as well. Budkuley retired from Goa University as Professor of English and Head of the Department and Dean, Faculty of Languages and Literature. She is a public speaker and conducts regular workshops on translation, and creative and critical writing. She is Visiting Research Professor, Kavivarya Bakibab Borkar Chair for Comparative Literature at Goa University.
Derek Mascarenhas
Derek Mascarenhas is the author of the acclaimed debut linked short story collection, Coconut Dreams (Book*hug, 2019). A graduate of the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies Creative Writing Program, Derek is a finalist and runner up for the Penguin Random House of Canada Student Award for Fiction, and a nominee for the Marina Nemat Award. He has works published in places such as The Dalhousie Review, Switchback, Maple Tree Literary Supplement, Joyland, and The Antigonish Review. Derek is one of four children born to parents who emigrated from Goa, India, and settled in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. A backpacker who has traveled across six continents, Derek currently resides in Toronto.
Manohar Shetty
Manohar Shetty has published 'Full Disclosure: New and Collected Poems (1981-2017)'. His new book of poems is 'Borderlines'. His anthology: 'Ferry Crossing: Short Stories from Goa' has gone into several reprints. He has lived in Goa since 1985.
Tony Martin
Anthony M Barreto, who writes under the pen name Tony Martin teaches English at S S Angle Higher Secondary School, Mashem Canacona since 1999. He is a Gold medalist of the Goa University and holds post graduate degrees in English literature and Philosophy.
Besides five books — Naked Goa (2003) The Practical English Teacher (2001) It’s a Funny World (1994) Canacona – the Last Frontier (2012) Sinful Goa – Paradise in Peril (2014) — he has written extensively for local English dailies and was a Sub-Editor with The Navhind Times and Herald.
He lives in Galgibaga Canacona and loves reading and writing.
Rajorshi Chakraborti
Rajorshi Chakraborti has published six novels and a collection of short fiction. He was born in Kolkata and grew up there and in Mumbai, and now lives with his family in Wellington, New Zealand. Two of his earlier novels have been nominated in different categories of the Crossword Book Award. His new novel, Shakti, a supernatural mystery thriller, is due to be published by Penguin Random House in November.
Tony Joseph
Tony Joseph is the author of the best-selling book “Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From” published by Juggernaut last year and received well by the academic and scientific community. Tony has been a journalist for over three decades and has worked with The Economic Times as Features Editor, Business Standard as Associate Editor and BusinessWorld as Editor. His articles on Indian prehistory have appeared in The Hindu, BBC, The Quint and Scroll.in. He lives near New Delhi and is now working on his next book, which will deal with periods subsequent to the one that ‘Early Indians’ covers.
Naresh Fernandes
Naresh Fernandes is the author of Taj Mahal Foxtrot: The Story of Bombay's Jazz Age and City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay. He is the editor of Scroll.in, a digital news publication.
Prava Rai
Prava Rai has lived in Goa since 1994 with her family. They found a piece of heaven tucked away in a corner of Chorao Island where they built their home and moved their in 1998.
Prava studied in Mt Hermon School Darjeeling and joined Lady Shri Ram College to study English Honours then spent five years at Jawaharlal Nehru University completing Masters in English Language and Literature from the School of Languages and an M.Phil from the Centre for American Studies, School of International Studies.
Prava edited “The Book Review” for four years, taught for two years at the Institute of Mass Communication in Delhi and worked in the PRADAN , an organization devoted to rural development.
In Goa, she edited the Goa Heritage Action Groups’ journal “PARMAL” for six years and is a member Goa Writers Group. In 2015 she edited a special issue on Sikkim’s culture and art for MARG Publications, Mumbai and has researched and written two volumes of coffee table books “The Land and the People” for the Department of Culture, Government of Sikkim.
Her latest project has been to build the Reading Room, a library in the village of Dumigaon, in South Sikkim. Now she divides her time between Goa and Sikkim.
Parimal Gandhi
In the Learning and Development profession since more than 44 years, Parimal is a results-oriented, innovative, gifted and acclaimed international facilitator, consultant, speaker and author. By now, he has trained over 100000 participants and 1000 trainers. His abiding interest lies in the application of timeless philosophies to human life for holistic learning, development, performance and happiness. With academic backgrounds in Chemical Engineering, Literature and several international certifications, he orchestrates heart-felt learning experiences in his areas of interest: Leadership, Spirituality, Teams, Customer Service, Innovation, Time Management and Trainer Training. His client list ranges from Fortune 500 companies to small and tiny industries and families. He has spoken at several international conferences and works in India, Mexico and USA.
He has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian Society for Training and Development and the V Care Foundation Award for ‘facing cancer four times with indomitable courage and resilience’.
Dhruba Hazarika
Dhruba Hazarika was born in Shillong and educated in St. Edmund’s School & College. He served as a lecturer in economics for a brief period before joining the Assam Civil Service in 1983. In 1999, he was inducted into the Indian Administrative Service, serving in various capacities, and retired while in the rank of Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam in early 2016. Post retirement, he was appointed as Member of the Assam Public Service Commission from where he retired in July 2018.
Dhruba Hazarika’s first step into the literary world began early in life, influenced as he was by his mother’s wide reading as well by the encouragement that he received from his teachers. From being the editor of the college magazine to his many published works over the years Dhruba Hazarika has written over a 100 short stories, essays published in various journals and newspapers. Till date, Penguin has published three of his books comprising two novels, A Bowstring Winter and Sons of Brahma; and a short story collection, Luck. His next collection of short stories Savage Men is due for release later by Speaking Tiger this year.
He has been a regular contributor during the last thirty years to The Sentinel, The Telegraph and, presently, to The Assam Tribune as well as to various magazines. Several universities in India have included his works in their academic syllabi. He has addressed various gatherings, academic and non-academic, on the art and craft of creative writing.
Dhruba Hazarika is a recipient of the DY365 Literary Award and the All-India Katha Award for fiction in English. He is a founder member of the vibrant North-East Writers’ Forum and is presently its President. Apart from reading and writing, his other interests include painting, woodwork, trekking and cosmology. He has travelled widely both at home and abroad but is happiest when with his family.
