Anita Desai

Indian novelist, short-story writer and children's author  was born in 1937 in Mussoorie, India. She was educated at Delhi University. Anita Desai is especially noted for her sensitive portrayal of the inner life of her female characters. Several of Desai's novels explore tensions between family members and the alienation of middle-class women.

Selected works

The Peacock, 1963
Voices in the City, 1965
Bye-Bye, Blackbird, 1971
The Peacock Garden, 1974
Where Shall We Go This Summer?, 1975
Cat on a Houseboat, 1976
Fire on the Mountain, 1977
Games at Twilight and Other Stories, 1978
Clear Light of Day, 1980
Village by the Sea, 1982
In Custody, 1984 - ( film 1993, directed by Ismail Merchant, starring Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, screenplay by Anita Desai)
Baumgartner's Bombay, 1988
Journey to Ithaca, 1996
Fasting, Feasting, 1999
Diamond Dust, 2000

Prizes and awards

1978 National Academy of Letters Award Fire on the Mountain
1978 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize Fire on the Mountain
1980 Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlist) Clear Light of Day
1983 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Village by the Sea
1984 Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlist) In Custody
1993 Neil Gunn Prize
1999 Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlist) Fasting, Feasting
2000 Alberto Moravia Prize for Literature (Italy)