Amitav Ghosh

Writer

Indian Kolkata, West Bengal, India

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Quick Info

ProfessionWriter
NationalityIndian
Date of Birth11/07/1956
Age69 years
BirthplaceKolkata, West Bengal, India

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Bio/Wiki

CareerGenre of writing: Historical fiction, science fiction, and non-fiction exploring colonialism and climate change
Fiction Books
  • The Circle of Reason (1986)
  • The Shadow Lines (1988)
  • The Calcutta Chromosome (1995)
  • The Glass Palace (2000)
  • The Hungry Tide (2004)
  • Sea of Poppies (2008)
  • River of Smoke (2011)
  • Flood of Fire (2015)
  • Gun Island (2019)
  • Jungle Nama (2021)
  • Ghost-Eye (2026)
Non-Fiction Books
  • In an Antique Land (1992)
  • Dancing in Cambodia and at Large in Burma (1998; Essays)
  • Countdown (1999) The Imam and the Indian (2002; Essays)
  • Incendiary Circumstances (2006; Essays)
  • The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016)
  • The Nutmeg’s Curse (2021)
  • Smoke and Ashes (2023)
  • Wild Fictions (2025)
  • Countdown (1999)

Physical Stats & More

Eye ColorBlack
Hair ColorWhite

Educational Qualification(s)

Education
  • School: The Doon School, Dehradun, India
  • Bachelor's Degree: St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, India
  • Master's Degree: Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India
  • Doctorate: Oxford University, England
  • Diploma: Institut Bourguiba des Langues Vivantes, Tunis, Tunisia (Arabic, 1979)

Personal Life

Worked as a journalist for The Indian Express in New Delhi
Conducted fieldwork in the village of Lataifa, Egypt in 1980, which influenced his debut novel and later In an Antique Land
Taught at the Centre for Social Sciences at Trivandrum, Kerala (1982-83)
Taught at the Department of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics
Visiting Professor of Anthropology at the University of Virginia (1988)
Visiting Professor of Anthropology at Columbia University (1994-97)
Visiting Professor in English at Harvard University (Spring 2004)
Currently resides in Brooklyn, New York

Relationships & More

Marital StatusMarried
Marriage Year1990

Family

WifeDeborah Baker (a biographer and essayist)
Children
  • Leela
  • Nayan
Parents
FatherShailendra Chandra Ghosh (a lieutenant in the Indian Army)
MotherAnsali Ghosh
SiblingsHe has two siblings.

Favourites

FoodDosa
Actresses
GameBadminton
Players

Some Lesser Known Facts

1. Awarded the 54th Jnanpith, India's top literary honor, in 2018.
2. Honored with the Padma Shri in 2007.
3. Recipient of the Dan David Prize in 2010.
4. Currently lives in New York with spouse Deborah and kids Leela and Nayan.
5. Awarded the Erasmus Prize in 2024.
6. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2024.
7. First English-language writer to win the Jnanpith Award (2018), India's highest literary honour
8. Has received two lifetime achievement awards and five honorary doctorates
9. Grew up in Calcutta, Dhaka, and Colombo
10. The Ibis trilogy, completed between 2004 and 2015, revolves around the build-up and implications of the First Opium War
Information on this page is collected from public sources and may not be 100% accurate. Report an error
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