Amitava Kumar Biography and latest books by Amitava Kumar

Amitava Kumar is a journalist-author born in Ara, Bihar. He was raised in Patna. Currently, he teaches English on the Helen D. Lockwood Chair at Vassar College.


Kumar has authored Husband of a Fanatic, Bombay-London-New York and Passport Photos. He has also penned a book of poems, No Tears for the N.R.I. Husband of a Fanatic was an “Editors’ Choice” book at the New York Times; Bombay-London-New York was on the list of “Books of the Year” in The New Statesman (UK); and Passport Photos won an Outstanding Book of the Year award from the Myers Program for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America. His novel Home Products was short-listed for India’s premier literary prize, the Crossword Book Award.


Kumar also works on the editorial board of several publications and co-edits the journal Politics and Culture. He has also edited five books: Class Issues, Poetics/Politics, World Bank Literature, The Humour and the Pity: Essays on V.S. Naipaul and Away: The Indian Writer as an Expatriate.


Amitava Kumar’s non-fiction and poetry has been published in The Nation, Harper’s, Kenyon Review, New Statesman, Boston Review, Transition, American Prospect, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Toronto Review, Colorlines, Biblio, Outlook, Frontline, India Today, The Hindu, Herald, The Friday Times, The Times of India and a variety of other venues. He is the script-writer and narrator of the prize-winning documentary film, Pure Chutney and Dirty Laundry.