Here are the Event Details:
Date: 13 September 2025
Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Champaca Bookstore, Vasanth Nagar
Since seating is limited, we recommend that you RSVP here!
We’re delighted to be hosting an afternoon dedicated to short fiction and independent voices on 13 September 2025 at Champaca Bookstore in Vasanth Nagar. The event will feature a reading of select stories from The Deodar Prize Anthology: The Pilgrim, followed by a discussion with the writers of the stories.
The anthology brings together fresh, compelling short stories that reflect the depth and diversity of contemporary Indian writing. This session offers readers the chance to not just hear the stories, but also engage with the people behind them.
Our Panelists:
Abhinav Thanda is the author of Reincarnation at Silk Board Junction. An engineer by profession, Abhinav’s short stories have been published in Indian Literature Journal, The Bangalore Review, and State of Matter. He grew up in Hyderabad and now calls Bengaluru home.
Ashmita Arjun Chhabria is author of The Dark Room. Ashmita is a storyteller who has worked across film, television, podcasts, and new media. Her screenplays have been recognized by the Bangalore Literature Festival, Writer’s Ink, and Storiculture. Her work often centers messy, magnetic women and the dysfunctional systems they navigate—where personal narratives meet politics, and humor masks deeper truths.
Vikram Mervyn – Author of Laughter Under Refuge. Vikram writes prose, with stories published in Hakara Journal, Gulmohur Quarterly, Twist and Twain, The Sunflower Collective, and The Hammock Mag. His work has also appeared in the anthology The Cat People, edited by Devapriya Roy. In 2024, he received an honorable mention in The Deodar Prize.
The discussion will be moderated by Natasha Joshi, Director of The Deodar Prize. Natasha leads this platform dedicated to finding and nurturing new voices in Indian fiction. She is also the curator of Manotsava, the National Mental Health Festival. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Juggernaut, Mint Lounge and The Economic Times.
The Deodar Prize Anthology Volume II features the ten best stories from the second edition of the Deodar prize, which focuses on short stories. This anthology is a collection of sparkling voices from different parts of India.