Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri, a distinguished British-American author, is celebrated for her profound storytelling in both English and Italian. Born in London to Indian parents and raised in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, Lahiri’s multicultural background deeply informs her work. She attended Barnard College, where she earned her degree in English literature, and later received an MFA and a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Boston University. Her debut collection of short stories, *Interpreter of Maladies* (1999), garnered widespread acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award, establishing her as a major literary voice.

Lahiri’s first novel, *The Namesake* (2003), further solidified her reputation, earning recognition as a New York Times Notable Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. The novel was adapted into a successful film, broadening its impact. Her subsequent works, including *Unaccustomed Earth* (2008) and *The Lowland* (2013), continued to explore themes of the Indian-immigrant experience in America. *Unaccustomed Earth* won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, while *The Lowland* was a finalist for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction, eventually winning the DSC Prize for Literature in 2015.

In 2012, Lahiri relocated to Rome, Italy, where she began writing in Italian. Her Italian-language debut, *Dove mi trovo* (2018), and the 2023 collection *Roman Stories* reflect her expanding literary horizons. Lahiri also edited and translated the *Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories*, showcasing her versatility.

Awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2014, Lahiri was a professor of creative writing at Princeton University from 2015 to 2022 and now serves as the Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Barnard College. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, continuing to influence the literary world with her innovative storytelling and cross-cultural insights.