Anosh Irani: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Canadian writer}}

'''Anosh Irani''' (born 1974) is an [[Indo-Canadian]] novelist and playwright. An [[Irani]] ([[Parsi]] of recent [[Iranian]] extraction), he was born and raised in [[Mumbai]], although he has indicated that he personally prefers the city's traditional English name, [[Bombay]].After working in advertising in India, he moved to [[Vancouver]] in 1998 to study and pursue writing.

{{BLP sources|date=September 2016}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}

[[File:Anosh Irani signature.jpg|thumb|Anosh Irani's signature on a copy of his novel The Parcel]]

[[File:Bookbits - 2010-04-29 Anosh Irani-Dahanu Road.vorb.oga|thumb|right|Anosh Irani on Bookbits radio talks about Dahanu Road.]]

'''Anosh Irani''' (born 1974) is an [[Indo-Canadian]] novelist and playwright, born and raised in [[Mumbai]].

His first full-length play, ''The Matka King'', premiered in October 2003 at the Arts Club

Theatre in Vancouver. His most recent play, ''Bombay Black'', won four Dora Awards including Outstanding New Play. Irani was also featured in Quill & Quire as one of a handful of young Canadian “writers to watch.”

He published his debut novel, ''The Cripple and His Talismans'', in 2004. This deftly dark fable touched the hearts of everyone who read it and was drawn into its magic realist depiction of the seedy beggars’ underworld of India.

==Career==

Irani's second novel, ''The Song of Kahunsha'',was chosen as a CBC BookClub One pick,and has been selected for the 2007 edition of ''[[Canada Reads]]'', where it will be championed by [[Donna Morrissey]]. Kahunsha is a heartbreaking story about the abandoned children of Bombay, struggling for survival and to hold onto hope amidst the violence of the 1993 racial riots.

'''Anosh Irani''' has published four critically acclaimed novels: ''The Cripple and His Talismans (2004)'', a national bestseller; ''The Song of Kahunsha (2006)'', which was an international bestseller and shortlisted for Canada Reads and the [[Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize]]; ''Dahanu Road (2010)'', which was longlisted for the [[Man Asian Literary Prize]]; and ''The Parcel (2016)'', which was a finalist for the [[Governor General's Award for English-language drama|Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction]] and the [[Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize|Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize]].<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/two-debut-novelists-among-this-years-writers-trust-nominees/article31968963/ "Two debut novelists among this year’s Writers’ Trust nominees"]. ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', 21 September 2016.</ref><ref name="announce">[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/governor-generals-literary-award-short-list-a-serious-case-of-deja-vu/article32229006/ "Governor-General’s Literary Award short list a serious case of déjà vu"]. ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', 4 October 2016.</ref>

His play ''Bombay Black (2006)'' won the [[Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Original Play (General Theatre)|Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play]], as did his one-man show ''Buffoon (2019)''. His anthology The Bombay Plays: ''The Matka King & Bombay Black (2007)'' and his play ''The Men in White (2018)'' were both finalists for the [[Governor General's Award for English-language drama|Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama]], and in 2023 Irani was the recipient of the [[Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award|Writers’ Trust Engel Findley Award]].<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-finalists-for-the-2018-governor-general-s-literary-award-for-drama-1.4840585 "The finalists for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for drama"]. [[CBC Books]], October 3, 2018.</ref><ref>Nicole Thompson, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/kai-thomas-wins-atwood-gibson-writers-trust-fiction-prize-for-debut-novel/article_efce4016-ff9f-58cb-937c-af5cc65850e8.html "Kai Thomas wins Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for debut novel"]. ''[[Toronto Star]]'', November 21, 2023.</ref> His latest play, ''Behind the Moon (2023)'', was a finalist for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play.

Irani’s short stories have appeared in ''Granta'' and the ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' and have been collected in ''Translated from the Gibberish: Seven Stories and One Half Truth (2019)''. His nonfiction has been published in the ''Globe and Mail'', the ''Toronto Star'', the ''Guardian'', and ''the New York Times''. His work has been translated into eleven languages, and he teaches fiction and playwriting in the School of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anosh Irani |url=http://www.anoshirani.com/ |access-date=2025-09-21 |website=www.anoshirani.com}}</ref>

==Works==

* ''The Matka King'' (2003, play)

* ''The Cripple and His Talismans'' (2004, novel) {{ISBN|978-1-55192-803-6}}, Raincoast Books

* ''[[The Song of Kahunsha]]'' (2006, novel) {{ISBN|978-0-385-66229-1}}, Anchor Canada

* ''Bombay Black'' (2006, play)

* ''Dahanu Road'' (2010, novel) {{ISBN|978-0-385-66699-2}}, Doubleday Canada

* ''My Granny the Goldfish'' (2010, play)

* ''The Parcel'' (2016, novel)<ref>{{cite news | url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews/how-mumbais-red-light-district-and-transgender-community-haunted-and-inspired-anosh-irani | title=How Mumbai's red light district and transgender community 'haunted and inspired' Anosh Irani | newspaper=National Post | date=26 September 2016 | accessdate=6 June 2018 }}</ref>

* ''Swimming coach.'' In [[Granta]] # 141, ''Canada,'' 2017, pp 123 – 135

==External linksReferences==

{{reflist}}

* [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/irani.html Anosh Irani interview on cbc.ca]

* [http://www.cbc.ca/wordsatlarge/features/feature.php?storyId=216 Online interview from CBC Words at Large]

==External links==

{{Canada-writer-stub}}

* [http://www.anoshirani.com Anosh Irani's Website]

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