Asia is a vast continent brimming with talent. The art and literature by Asians has always been exotic for the rest of the world. The stories originating from this region are rich in history and culture. However, that is not all the Asian writers have written about. From contemporary fiction to fantasy and thriller writing, Asian writers are now receiving critical appreciation all around the world. Today, Team Daastan is celebrating the Asian writers who are not only loved among their own people but are applauded worldwide. Join us through this exciting rundown of the Asian Writers. You may find your favourites on this list!
Khalid Hosseni
Khalid Hosseini is a prominent name from Asian literature. Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan to a diplomat in the Afghan Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry relocated the Hosseini family to Paris in 1976. However, they were ready to return to Kabul in 1980. But by then their homeland had witnessed a communist coup and the invasion of the Soviet Army. Khalid along with his family was granted political asylum in the United States, and in September 1980 moved to San Jose, California.
His writing journey began in 2001, while he was practicing medicine in LA. Finally in 2003, he published his debut novel, The Kite Runner. The Kite Runner became one of the greatest debut books of the 21st century. Later, his book was made into a film. Hosseini continued to write bestsellers after his debut novel.
Hosseini has also been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency since 2006. Moreover, Hosseini established The Khaled Hosseini Foundation, a nonprofit, which provides humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
Kevin Kwan
If you are a fan of the movie or book The Crazy Rich Asians, you must know the man behind the masterpiece. It is none other than Kevin Kwan. Kwan was born into an established Chinese Singaporean family. His childhood among the elite Singaporean families inspired him to write novels in mock epic style. Crazy Rich Asians, his first book was inspired from a poem he wrote “Singapore Bible Study”. In the poem he describes how the bible study groups are excuse to gossip and flaunt expensive jewellery and clothes. However, the poem was not the only story Kwan had to tell. Therefore, he began writing novels capturing the extravagant lives of Asia’s elite.
Kwan is among one of the ‘Five Writers to Watch’ on the list of Hollywood’s Most Powerful Authors published by The Hollywood Reporter. In addition to that, he is on the Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people and The Asian Hall of Fame.
Arundhati Roy
Suzanna Arundhati Royis a legend among the writers of the 21st century. She was born in Shillong, India. Roy is not only credited with writing one of the best novels of our century but is also admired for her social and environmental work. Despite being an Indian, Roy has been vocal about the plight of Kashmiris. In addition, she deeply condemns the involvement of US in Afghanistan. Similarly, Roy has been active in showing her support for the people of Palestine. Through the force of pen, Arundhati aims to create a world without suffering and hatred. Her political and social activism through out the decades speaks for her humanity.
For her remarkable work as a writer and activist, Roy has received several awards. In 1997, Roy won the Booker Prize for her novel The God of Small Things. The prize included a monetary reward of around US $30,000. It also contained a note that read,
“The book keeps all of the promises that it makes.”
Kamila Shamsi
The award winning writer Kamilla Shamsi was born into a Pakistan family of talented women on August 13th, 1973. Kamilla is the daughter of the journalist and editor Muneeza Shamsi and the niece of the writer Attia Hussain. Being brought up in a literary environment, Kamila wrote her first novel at the age of 25 in 1999. For her debut novel “In the city by the sea”, she was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in the UK. For the same novel, Kamila also recieved the Prime Minister’s Award for literature.
After 1999, Kamila wrote one hit novel after another. Finally in 2018, Kamila won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for “Home Fire”. Among other noteworthy awards, Kamila holds the honour of receiving the Patras Bukhari Award twice and the Nelly Sachs Award.
Jenny Han
For the most part of the last decade, there has been talk of a new genre of novel on the horizon. This genre specifically targets young adult audience, offering them a quick fictional reads of their dream lives. Among the pioneers of such novel writing, Asia has Jenny Han.
Jenny Han is a librarian turned young adult fiction writer from Korea. Han currently resides in New York. She is not only a New York Times bestseller but also the producer of Netflix’s adaptation of “To All The Boys I’ve Loved”. Her romance novel series, now movies with the protagonist Lara Jean made her popular among the teens worldwide. However, Han’s success journey goes all the back to her novel “The Summer I Turned Pretty”.
“Han was a best-selling author of YA romance long before To All the Boys became a smash hit; she writes books of immense warmth and sweetness, so that reading them feels as soothing as sinking down into a hot bath.” — Constance Grady from Vox
Rabisankar Bal
Rabisankar Bal was a Bangla novelist, short story writer and journalist. Apart from creating literary works out of his own imagination, he also translated some of Sadat Hassan Manto’s writings. Born in the decades right after the independence of subcontinent, Bal’s writing explore the impacts of partition. He has authored over fifteen novels, several short story collections, literary essays and even poetry.
In his 30 years of writing career, Bal won major literary awards of India. For instance The West Bengal Government awarded him the Sutapa Roychowdhury Memorial Prize for his novel The Biography Of Midnight. Moreover, Bal’s Dozakhnama is a winner of The West Bengal Government’s Bankimchandra Smriti Puraskar, which was named the best novel of 2010 by the late, Sunil Gangopadhyay.
We hope you enjoyed our rundown of Asian Writers. For more literary goodness, stay tuned!
