# List of Indian women writers

This is a list of women writers who were born in India or whose writings are closely associated with that nation.

## A

* Arundhati Roy (born 1961), Indian author best known for her novel The God of Small Things (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author
* Varsha Adalja (born 1940), Gujarati novelist, playwright
* Smita Agarwal (born 1958), poet, educator
* Vinita Agrawal (born 1965), poet, editor
* Sheetal Agashe (born 1977), poet, essayist, businesswoman
* Meena Alexander (1951–2018), poet, memoirist, essayist, novelist, critic, educator
* Samina Ali, contemporary Indian-American novelist, feminist, author of Madras on Rainy Days
* Balamani Amma (1909–2004), poet, published many collections of poetry in Malayalam
* K. Saraswathi Amma (1919–1975), short story writer, novelist, feminist
* Lalithambika Antharjanam (1909–1987), Malayalam short story writer, poet, children's writer, novelist, author of Agnisakshi
* Temsula Ao (born 1945), short story writer, poet, educator
* Ashitha, since c.1986: Malayalam short story writer, poet

## B

* Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932), the first woman Muslim writer from colonial Bengal.
* Jasodhara Bagchi (1937–2015), leading feminist critic, essayist, activist
* Anuttama Banerjee, psychologist, poet, author, and public health advocate
* Sushmita Banerjee (c.1963–2013), memoirist
* Rashmi Bansal (born 1985), non-fiction best-seller writer on entrepreneurship
* Bani Basu (born 1939), Bengali novelist, essayist, critic, poet
* Barkha Dutt (born 1971), TV journalist
* Kumudini Basu (1873–1942), writer, social reformer, freedom fighter and women's rights activist
* Malati Bedekar (1905–2001), Marathi feminist writer, short story writer, screenwriter
* Sheila Bhatia (1916–2008), poet, playwright, theatre director
* Sujata Bhatt (born 1956), Gujarati poet, also writing in English
* Rajlukshmee Debee Bhattacharya, since the 1990s: poet in Bengali and English
* Suchitra Bhattacharya (1950–2015), Bengali novelist, short story writer
* Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi (1933–2003), Assamese poet, lyricist, children's writer
* Urvashi Butalia (born 1952), feminist, publisher, non-fiction writer

## C

* Neelam Saxena Chandra (born 1969), poet, children's writer, novelist
* Chandramathi (born 1954), novelist writing in Malayalam and English
* Rimi B. Chatterjee (born 1969), novelist, short story writer, non-fiction writer, translator
* Jayasri Chattopadhyay (born 1945), Sanskrit poet, educator
* Anuja Chauhan (born 1970), advertiser, novelist, author of The Zoya Factor
* Subhadra Kumari Chauhan (1904–1948), Hindi poet
* Prem Chowdhry (born 1944), social scientist, feminist, non-fiction writer, essayist
* Rita Chowdhury (born 1960), poet, novelist, educator
* Raghavan Chudamani (1931–2010), novelist, short story writer, writing in Tamil and English
* Ismat Chughtai (1915–1991), Urdu novelist, screenwriter
* Ajit Cour (born 1934), Punjabi novelist, short story writer
* C. S. Chandrika (born 1967), novelist, short story writer, essayist in Malayalam

## D

* Esha Dadawala (born 1985), Gujarati poet, journalist
* Sukanya Datta (born 1961), scientist and science fiction writer
* Anupreeta Das, journalist and author
* Abha Dawesar (born 1974), novelist, short story writer, author of Babyji
* Shobha De (born 1947), journalist, novelist
* Eunice de Souza (born 1940–2017), English-language poet, critic, novelist
* Pitambari Debi (1904–?), writer of Odia literature
* Anita Desai (born 1937), novelist, author of In Custody
* Kamal Desai (1928–c.2011), novelist, writing in Marathi
* Kiran Desai (born 1971), novelist, author of The Inheritance of Loss
* Dhanashree Deshpande-Ganatra (born 1970), poet, singer, and music producer
* Gauri Deshpande (1942–2003), novelist, short story writer, poet, wrote in Marathi and English
* Shashi Deshpande (born 1938), novelist, short story writer, children's writer
* Sunita Deshpande (1926–2009), Marathi memoirist, letter writer
* Nabaneeta Dev Sen (1938–2019), poet, novelist, educator
* Ashapoorna Devi (1909–1995), Bengali novelist, poet
* Leela Devi (1932–1998), novelist, non-fiction writer, playwright, translator, writing in Malayalam and English
* Mahasweta Devi (1926–2016), Bengali-Indian journalist, novelist
* Maitreyi Devi (1914–1989), Bengali poet, novelist
* M. K. Binodini Devi (1922–2011), Manipuri memoirist, essayist, short story writer, novelist
* Nalini Bala Devi (1898–1977), Assamese poet
* Nirupama Devi (1883–1951), novelist
* Sneha Devi (1916–1990), writer of Assamese literature
* Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (born 1956), Indian-American poet, novelist, short story writer, author of The Mistress of Spices
* Varsha Dixit, novelist
* Nirupama Dutt (born 1955), Punjabi poet, journalist, translator
* Toru Dutt (1856–1877), poet, novelist, writing in English and French

## E

* Bondina Elangbam, writer, poet and artist

## G

* Gangadevi (14th century), Telugu princess, poet, author of Madura Vijayam
* Mridula Garg (born 1938), novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist, writing in Hindi and English
* Sagarika Ghose (born 1964), journalist, TV presenter, novelist
* Namita Gokhale (born 1956), English-language novelist, short story writer
* Padma Gole (1913–1998), Marathi poet
* Ellen Lakshmi Goreh (1853–1937), poet, Christian missionary, deaconess and nurse
* Nirmala Govindarajan, English-language novelist, journalist
* Mamoni Raisom Goswami (1942–2011), Assamese poet, novelist, short story writer, editor, educator
* Santhini Govindan (born 1959), children's writer
* Kodagina Gowramma, pen name of B. T. Gopal Krishna (1912–1939), short story writer, feminist
* Teji Grover (born 1955), poet, novelist, translator, painter
* Neelum Saran Gour (born 1955), writer, academic
* Ganga Bharani Vasudevan (born 1990), novelist, script writer

## H

* Baby Halder (born 1973), domestic servant, autobiographer
* Githa Hariharan (born 1954), novelist
* Chandrakala A. Hate (1903–1990), feminist writer, educator
* Nistula Hebbar (born 1975), journalist, columnist, novelist
* Vera Hingorani (1924–2018), gynaecologist, medical writer
* Saliha Abid Hussain, 20th-century Urdu-language novelist, children's writer
* Krishna Hutheesing (1907–1967), biographer, non-fiction writer

## I

* M. K. Indira (1917–1994), Kannada novelist
* Ismat Chugtai (1915-1991),Indian Urdu novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker

## J

* Manorama Jafa (born 1932), prolific children's writer
* Rashid Jahan (1905–1952), Urdi short story writer, playwright
* Jana Begum (17th century), early female writer of a commentary on the Qur'an
* Pupul Jayakar (1915–1997), biographer, non-fiction writer on handicrafts
* Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1927–2013), acclaimed German-born British novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, grew up in India
* Sarah Joseph (born 1946), Malayalam novelist, short story writer, author of Aalahayude Penmakkal
* Isha Basant Joshi (born 1908, date of death unknown), poet, short story writer
* Anees Jung (born 1944), journalist, columnist, non-fiction writer
* Kirthi Jayakumar (born 1987), author, non-fiction writer, women's rights activist, feminist
* Jyoti Arora (born 1977) Blogger, novelist

## K

* Madhur Kapila (1942–2021), writer, journalist, art critic
* Shakuntala Karandikar (1931–2018), biographer, essayist and philanthropist
* Meena Kandasamy (born 1984), poet, biographer, novelist, feminist
* Amita Kanekar (born 1965), novelist, educator
* Kanhopatra (15th century), Marathi saint-poet
* Kota Neelima, writer, journalist, artist
* Lakshmi Kannan (born 1947), Tamil poet and novelist, translates her works into English
* Bhanu Kapil (born 1968), British-Indian novelist
* Manju Kapur, since 1998: novelist
* Swati Kaushal, since 2005: young adult novelist
* Girijabai Kelkar (1886–1890), Marathi-language playwright, feminist writer
* Sumana Kittur (active since 2007), journalist, film director, lyricist
* Habba Khatoon (1554–1609), Kashmiri mystic poet
* Mridula Koshy (born 1969), short story writer, novelist
* Sumati Kshetramade (1913–1997), novelist
* Rajam Krishnan (1925–2014), Tamil novelist, playwright, short story writer, feminist
* Priya Kumar (born 1974), novelist
* Twinkle Khanna (born 1973), author, columnist

## L

* Jhumpa Lahiri (born 1967), British-born American-Indian short story writer, novelist, author of The Lowland
* Lalleshwari (1320–1392), Kashmiri mystic poet
* Bem Le Hunte (born 1964), British-Indian novelist, now in Australia
* Lalitha Lenin (born 1946), acclaimed Malayalam poet, educator
* Ritu Lalit (born 1964), Indian novelist
Monica Lakhmana, Indian history writer, author of “Women In Pre & Post Independent India 75 Victories Visionaries Voices

## M

* Akka Mahadevi (12th century), poet writing in Old Kannada
* Megha Majumdar, novelist, A Burning
* Tilottama Majumdar (born 1966), Bengali novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist
* Anju Makhija, since 1990, poet, playwright, translator
* Amita Malik (1921–2009), film and television critic, radio journalist
* Kiran Manral (born 1971), novelist, blogger, non-fiction writer
* Kamala Markandaya, pen name of Kamala Purnaiya Taylor (1924–2004), best selling novelist, journalist
* C K Meena (born 1957), novelist, journalist, educator
* Meera (15th century), Hindu mystic poet
* K. R. Meera (born 1970), journalist, novelist, short story writer, children's writer
* Rama Mehta (1923–1978), sociologist, novelist, non-fiction writer
* Indu Menon (born 1980), Malayalam novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, sociologist
* Jaishree Misra (born 1961), best-selling novelist
* Richa S Mukherjee (born 1980), best-selling novelist of contemporary fiction and comedic thrillers
* Baisali Mohanty (born 1994), author, columnist, non-fiction writer
* Molla (1440–1530), poet, translated the Ramayana into Telugu
* Muddupalani (18th century), Telugu poet
* Chitra Mudgal (born 1944), Hindi novelist
* Bharati Mukherjee (1940–2017), Indian-American novelist, short story writer, non-fiction writer, author of Jasmine
* Khadija Mumtaz (born 1955), medical doctor, novelist, author of Barsa (novel)
* Sudha Murthy (born 1950), Kannada novelist, short story writer, children's writer, sociologist, businesswomen
* Seema Mustafa, since 1990s, journalist, biographer, newspaper editor
* Meher Pestonji, (born 1946), freelance journalist, author

## N

* Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949), child prodigy, Indian independence activist, poet
* Anita Nair (born 1966), English-language poet, novelist, author of Ladies Coupé
* Nalini Priyadarshni (born 1974), poet, writer, critic
* Suniti Namjoshi (born 1941), poet, short story writer, children's writer
* Meera Nanda (born 1954), Indian-American historian, religious writer
* Anupama Niranjana (1934–1991), medical doctor, Kannada novelist, short story writer

## P

* Manjula Padmanabhan (born 1953), playwright, journalist, comic strip artist, children's writer
* Mrinal Pande (born 1946), television presenter, journalist, novelist, non-fiction writer, newspaper editor
* Meghna Pant (born 1980), award-winning novelist, non-fiction writer, journalist, feminist, columnist, speaker
* Rashmi Parekh (born 1976), poet, computer scientist
* Dhiruben Patel (born 1926), Gujarati novelist, short story writer, playwright, translator
* Savitribai Phule (1831–1897), poet, social reformer
* Gita Piramal (born c. 1954), magazine editor, businesswoman, non-fiction writer
* Gudibande Poornima (born 1951), poet, novelist, non-fiction writer
* Manjiri Prabhu (born 1964), novelist, filmmaker
* Manasi Pradhan (born 1962), novelist, women's rights activist
* Amrita Pritam (1919–2005), poet, novelist, essayist, first prominent Punjabi woman poet
* Neelkamal Puri (born 1956), Punjabi novelist, short story writer, columnist, educator
* Deanne Pandey (born 1968), fitness and lifestyle writer

## R

* Rajalakshmi (1930–1965), Malayalam poet, novelist
* Rajashree, author of the chick lit best seller Trust Me (2006)
* Anuradha Ramanan (1947–2010), prolific novelist, short story writer
* Ravinder Randhawa (born 1952), British-Indian novelist, short story writer
* Bhargavi Rao (1944–2008), specialist in Telugu literature, translator, anthologist
* Malathi Rao (born 1930), novelist, short story writer
* Usha Rao-Monari (born 1959), economist and non-fiction writer
* Santha Rama Rau (1923–2009), Indian-American novelist, playwright
* Rashid-un-Nisa (1855 – 1929), the first Indian women Urdu novelist, known for her first Novel Islah un Nisa.
* Nuchhungi Renthlei (1914–2002), poet, singer, school teacher, women's rights activist
* Anusree Roy (born 1982), Indo-Canadian playwright, actress
* Anuradha Roy (born 1967), novelist
* Arundhati Roy (born 1961), novelist, author of The God of Small Things
* Nilanjana S. Roy (born c. 1971), journalist, children's writer
* Kamini Roy (1864–1933), leading Bengali poet, essayist, feminist
* Sumana Roy, Indian poet, novelist, short story writer
* Rita Kothari, Author, Professor, Translation Studies and Partition http://www.iitgn.ac.in/faculty/humanities/rita.htm

## S

* Padma Sachdev (1940–2021), Dogri poet, novelist, also writing in Hindi
* Nayantara Sahgal (born 1927), novelist, memoirist, letter writer, author of Rich Like Us
* Sarojini Sahoo (born 1956), feminist writer, novelist, short-story writer, author of Sensible Sensuality
* Nandini Sahu (born 1973), English-language poet, folklorist, academic
* Indira Sant (1914–2000), Marathi poet
* Krupabai Satthianadhan (1862–1894), early English-language Indian novelist
* Mala Sen (1947–2011), writer and human rights activist, author of India's Bandit Queen
* Mallika Sengupta (1960–2011), Bengali poet, novelist, feminist, sociologist
* Poile Sengupta (born 1948), English-language playwright, children's writer, poet
* Teesta Setalvad (born 1962), journalist, civil rights activist
* Madhuri R. Shah (fl. 1970-80s), educationist, non-fiction writer
* Shantichitra (born 1978), novelist, short story writer, educator
* Sarjana Sharma (born 1959), journalist, broadcaster
* Shanta Shelke (1922–2002), Marathi poet, novelist, short story writer, educator
* Preeti Shenoy (born 1971), novelist, non-fiction writer
* Melanie Silgardo (born 1956), poet
* Chandramani Singh (1940–2022), art historian and writer
* Sunny Singh (born 1969), journalist, novelist, short story writer
* Sunny Singh (1931–1999), Bengali poet, novelist, feminist
* Kabita Sinha (1931–1999), Bengali poet, novelist, feminist
* Mridula Sinha (1942–2020), state governor of Goa, Hindi novelist, short story writer
* Shumona Sinha (born 1973), Indian born French writer, novelist, feminist
* Sivasankari (born 1942), Tamil novelist
* Krishna Sobti (1925–2019), Hindi novelist, essayist
* Atima Srivastava (born 1961), short story writer, novelist, screenwriter, film director
* Arundhathi Subramaniam, since c.2003: poet, journalist, biographer
* Vidya Subramaniam (born 1957), prolific novelist, short story writer
* Sugathakumari (1934–2020), Malayalam poet, activist
* Kamala Surayya (1934–2009), English-language poet, Malayalam short story writer, columnist, autobiographer
* Sunita Jain (1940–2017), English and Hindi fictionist

## T

* Shweta Taneja (born 1980), novelist, comic writer, journalist
* Sooni Taraporevala (born 1957), screenwriter, photographer
* Romila Thapar (born 1930), historian, non-fiction writer
* Susie Tharu (born 1943), non-fiction writer, educator, women's rights activist
* Manjit Tiwana (born 1947), Punjabi poet, educator
* Madhu Trehan, since mid 1970s, journalist, magazine editor
* Ira Trivedi, since 2006, non-fiction writer, novelist, columnist
* Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (born 1979), author, filmmaker

## U

* Krishna Udayasankar, Singapore-based Indian author
* O. V. Usha (born 1948), Malayalam poet, novelist, short story writer

## V

* Urvashi Vaid (born 1958), Indian-American LGBT activist, non-fiction writer
* Vaidehi (born 1945), acclaimed Kannada short story writer, essayist, novelist, poet, children's writer
* Aparna Vaidik (born 1975), historian
* P. Valsala (born 1938), novelist, short story writer, social activist
* Mahadevi Varma (1907–1987), Hindi poet, women's rights activist
* Kapila Vatsyayan (1928–2020), art historian, non-fiction writer
* Reetika Vazirani (1962–2003), Indian-American poet, educator
* Kaajal Oza Vaidya (born 1966), screenwriter, novelist, journalist
* Vijayalakshmi (born 1960), prolific Malayalam poet
* Sharifa Vijaliwala, (born 1962), Indian writer and translator
* Pinki Virani (born 1959), journalist, best-selling novelist, non-fiction writer
* Susan Visvanathan (born 1957), sociologist, non-fiction writer, novelist, essayist
* Vrinda Singh, novelist writing on themes related to women

## Y

* Mallika Yunis, since 1980s, novelist

## Z

* Shama Zaidi (born 1938), art critic, screenwriter, filmmaker
* Zahida Zaidi (1930–2011), poet, playwright, critic, educator
* Zeenuth Futehally (1904-1992), author, feminist, novelist