J.K. Rowling is the famous British author of the worldwide attention-gaining Harry Potter series. Her best-selling novels have sold more than 400 million copies and won numerous awards. The books have also been adapted to screen in a series of blockbuster films. Ranked as the twelfth richest woman in the United Kingdom in 2008 with a net worth of US$1 billion, Rowling has risen from rags to riches. Harry Potter upgraded the status of this woman from living on welfare to being a multimillionaire in a short period of just 5 years. Titled the Most Influential Woman in Britain in 2010 by leading magazine editors, J.K Rowling and Harry Potter have become household names globally.
Joanne Kathleen Rowling, daughter of Peter James Rowling and Anne Rowling, was born on 31 July 1965 in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. She is the elder sister of Dianne Rowling, who was born 23 months after Jo. Rowling was fond of writing stories since a very young age; she read her short imaginative stories to her sister, Di. Rowling went to the Wyedean School and College, after which she attended the University of Exter, where she obtained a BA degree in French and Classics. Rowling then worked at Amnesty International in London as a researcher and bilingual secretary.
Rowling conceived the idea of Harry Potter in 1990 while she waited on a 4-hour delayed train trip from Manchester to London. Her mind was suddenly flooded with ideas about a boy who attended wizardry school. She did not have a pen at that time, so she kept thinking about it and immediately sat down to write as soon as she reached her flat in Clapham Junction.
Rowling wrote Harry Potter through difficult times of poverty and depression, surviving on welfare with her daughter whom she had from a brief marriage in Portugal. She now settled in Edinburg near her sister. The first book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which was renamed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the U.S. edition, was published in Britain in June 1997. The book was a big hit not only among children but also adults.

J.K.

Liu Cixin, born in June 1963, is a representative of the new generation of Chinese science fiction authors and is recognized as a leading voice in Chinese science fiction. He was awarded the China Galaxy Science Fiction Award for eight consecutive years, from 1999 to 2006 and again in 2010. His representative work, The Three-body Problem, is the BEST STORY of the 2015 Hugo Awards, the 3rd of 2015 Campbell Award finalists, and a nominee for the 2015 Nebulas Award.&nbsp;
His works have received wide acclaim on account of their powerful atmosphere and brilliant imagination. Liu Cixin's stories successfully combine the exceedingly ephemeral with hard reality, all the while focussing on revealing the essence and aesthetics of science. He has endeavored to create a distinctly Chinese style of science fiction. Liu Cixin is a member of the China Writers' Association and the Shanxi Writers' Association.

Cixin

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a highly acclaimed author, journalist, and educator. He is best known for his writing on race and culture in America. Born in 1975 in Baltimore, Maryland, Coates has become one of the most influential voices in the national race and social justice dialogue. He is a MacArthur Fellow and National Book Award Winner for his nonfiction work, Between the World and Me, released in 2015.
Coates’ writing career began in 2008 with his piece “The Case for Reparations,” published in The Atlantic. This piece brought him widespread attention and propelled him to become one of the most sought-after writers in the United States. Since then, he has written for various publications and magazines such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The New Yorker. He has also written several books, including The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power and The Water Dancer.
In addition to his writing, Coates is an educator. He has taught courses at Virginia State University and the Santa Fe Institute. He also serves as a distinguished writer in residence at Manhattanville College.
Coates’ work has been widely acclaimed and has received numerous awards. He won the National Book Award in 2015 for Between the World and Me and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award. His work has also been featured in several films, television shows, and documentaries.
Coates is known for his honest and holistic approach to discussing race and inequality in America. He is an advocate for reparations for African Americans and has used his writing to call attention to the systemic racism and injustice in the United States. His work has been praised for its insight and careful consideration of history and personal experience to explore the state
In addition to his writing, Coates advocates for social justice and activism. He has spoken out against police brutality, mass incarceration, and other systemic racism. He is a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and has made numerous appearances at rallies, protests, and other events supporting the cause.
Coates is also an active member of the literary community. He was a judge for the National Book Awards in 2018 and 2019. In addition, he is a contributing editor to The Atlantic and is a member of the literary nonprofit PEN America.
Coates’ influence continues to be felt in the literary and social justice worlds. His work has shaped public discourse around race, inequality, and justice. He has become a powerful voice in the fight for the rights of African Americans and other marginalized communities. He continues to use his writing to inspire and empower people to stand up for what is right.

Ta-Nehisi

Clayton M. Christensen is the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. In addition to his most recent book, Competing Against Luck, he is the author of nine books, including several New York Times bestsellers The Innovator's Dilemma, The Innovator's Solution, Disrupting Class, and most recently 'How Will You Measure Your Life?'.&nbsp;
Christensen is the co-founder of Innosight, a growth-strategy consultancy; Rose Park Advisors, an investment firm; and the Christensen Institute, a non-profit think tank. In 2011 and 2013, he was named the world’s most influential business thinker by Thinkers50.

Clayton

Steven Pressfield is an American author and screenwriter best known for his work on such films as The Legend of Bagger Vance and Courage Under Fire. He is also a highly acclaimed novelist, with works such as Gates of Fire, The War of Art, and The Profession.
Steven Pressfield was born in 1943 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and spent most of his childhood in Los Angeles, California. He attended San Diego State University College and received his degree in English literature and creative writing. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1962 to 1966 and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan.
Pressfield's early works are largely based on his military experience, with many of his novels set during wars in antiquity. His first novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was published in 1995 and was a highly successful movie adaptation released in 2000. His other works of fiction include Gates of Fire, a historical novel about the battle of Thermopylae, and The Afghan Campaign, a novel about the war in Afghanistan.
In addition to his novels, Pressfield has also written screenplays for films such as Courage Under Fire and The Legend of Bagger Vance. In 2002, he released The War of Art, a book about the psychology of creativity and how to overcome writer's block. His most recent book is The Profession, a novel about an elite team of military special operations forces.
Pressfield's works have been praised for their vivid detail, historical accuracy, and powerful storytelling. His novels are often characterized by a strong sense of moral imperative and dedication to the idea that while war may be necessary, it is never glorified. His works have earned him numerous awards, including the National Book Award and the American Library Association's Alex Award.
Pressfield is also known for his non-fiction works, such as The Authentic Swing, which explores the creative process and outlines the importance of creative discipline. He also wrote a series of essays called Turning Pro, which explores the process of transitioning from an amateur to a professional in any field.
Pressfield has lectured at the United States Naval Academy and at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is an advocate of the arts and was appointed to the California Arts Council in 2000. He has also served as a mentor to aspiring authors and has been involved in numerous charitable organizations.
Pressfield is an inspiration to many aspiring writers and is a strong proponent of the idea that anyone can achieve success with dedication and hard work. He is an example of overcoming obstacles and challenges and turning his passion into a successful career.

Steven

Nelle Harper Lee, better known as Harper Lee (1926 - 2016), was the American novelist revered for her work To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). It became an immediate best-seller and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. Inspired by events in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, from 1933-1935, it is about Atticus Finch, a lawyer, and single father, in his struggles to raise children Jem and Scout Finch to stand up for what's right and set an example for others, within the context of endemic racist attitudes in the deep South. The children befriend their neighbors, Dill, and the reclusive character, Arthur "Boo" Radley.
"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience." After 1964, Lee refused all public appearances to discuss her writing or the novel's impact. She is also recognized for helping her friend, author Truman Capote, research for his novel, In Cold Blood (1966). Capote is thought to have inspired Lee's character, Dill.
There was controversy over whether Lee's manuscript for Go Set a Watchman should have been published in 2015 since Lee made it clear in her lucid years that she wanted it to remain unpublished and that To Kill a Mockingbird was meant to stand alone. The sequel is the story of the Finch family's later years, in which Scout learns about Atticus' character flaws.
Though Harper Lee's work is not yet in the public domain, we pay tribute to her profound contribution to classic American literature. We feature it in our collection of Pulitzer Prize Fiction. So affirming was Lee's novel, "Atticus" was the name chosen by the editor for his firstborn child.

Harper

Frank Herbert (1920-1986) created the most beloved novel in the annals of science fiction, Dune. He was a man of many facets, of countless passageways that ran through an intricate mind. His magnum opus is a reflection of this, a classic work that stands as one of the most complex, multi-layered novels ever written in any genre. Today the novel is more popular than ever, with new readers continually discovering it and telling their friends to pick up a copy. It has been translated into dozens of languages and has sold almost 20 million copies.
As a child growing up in Washington State, Frank Herbert was curious about everything. He carried around a Boy Scout pack with books in it, and he was always reading. He loved Rover Boys' adventures, as well as the stories of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and the science fiction of Edgar Rice Burroughs. On his eighth birthday, Frank stood on top of the breakfast table at his family home and announced, "I wanna be an author." His maternal grandfather, John McCarthy, said of the boy, "It's frightening. A kid that small shouldn't be so smart." Young Frank was not unlike Alia in Dune, a person having adult comprehension of a child's body. In grade school, he was the acknowledged authority on everything. If his classmates wanted to know the answer to something, such as about sexual functions or how to make a carbide cannon, they would invariably say, "Let's ask Herbert. He'll know."

Frank

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on November 29, 1832. She and her three sisters, Anna, Elizabeth, and [Abba] May, were primarily educated by their father, teacher/philosopher A. Bronson Alcott, and raised on the practical Christianity of their mother, Abigail May. Louisa spent her childhood in Boston and in Concord, Massachusetts, where her days were enlightened by visits to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s library, excursions into nature with Henry David Thoreau, and theatricals in the barn at "Hillside" (now "The Wayside").&nbsp;&nbsp;
Like the character of "Jo March" in Little Women, young Louisa was a tomboy. "No boy could be my friend till I had beaten him in a race," she claimed, "and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences." For Louisa, writing was an early passion. She had a rich imagination, and her stories often became the basis of melodramas she and her sisters would act out for friends. Louisa preferred to play the "lurid" parts in these plays -- "the villains, ghosts, bandits, and disdainful queens," as she put it.
At age 15, troubled by the poverty plaguing her family, she vowed, "I will do something by and by. Don’t care what, teach, sew, act, write, anything to help the family, and I’ll be rich and famous and happy before I die; see if I won’t!" Confronting a society that offered little opportunity to women seeking employment, Louisa nonetheless persisted: ". . . I will make a battering ram of my head and make my way through this rough and tumble world." Whether as a teacher, seamstress, governess, or household servant, for many years, Louisa did any work she could find.
Louisa’s career as an author began at the age of eight with poetry and later short stories that appeared in popular magazines. In 1854, when she was 22, her first book, Flower Fables, was published. A major critical milestone along her literary path was Hospital Sketches (1863), a truthful and poignant account of her service as a Civil War nurse in Washington, DC, inspired by the letters she wrote home to her family in Concord.
In 1868, when Louisa was 35 years old, her publisher, Thomas Niles, asked her to write "a girls' story." The 492 pages of Little Women, Part I was dashed off within three months at the desk Louisa's father built for her in her Orchard House bed chamber. The novel is largely based on the coming-of-age stories of Louisa and her sisters, with many of the domestic experiences inspired by events that actually took place at Orchard House.
Virtually overnight, Little Women was a phenomenal success, primarily due to its timeless storytelling about the first American juvenile heroine, "Jo March," who acted from her own individuality -- a free-thinking, flawed person, rather than the idealized stereotype of feminine perfection then prevalent in children’s fiction. In all, Louisa published over 30 books and collections of short stories and poems. She died on 6 March 1888, only two days after her father, and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord.

Louisa

Neil Richard Gaiman was born on November 10, 1960, in Portchester, England. He originated from a family of Eastern European Jewish descent. His father, David Bernard Gaiman, worked at their family chain of stores, while his mother, Sheila Gaiman, was a pharmacist. In 1965 the family moved to East Grinstead, West Sussex, where Neil grew up with a profound love for reading, beginning as early as age 4.&nbsp;
Some of his favorite childhood books include J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Batman, and other comics. Gaiman received early education at various church schools, including Fonthill School in East Grinstead, Ardingly College, and Whitgift School in Croydon.
When Gaiman began to outgrow comic books in his teenage years, he realized the lack of comic books for an older mature audience. He, therefore, decided to fill the gap himself. Although he wanted to write comic books, Gaiman had little idea how to go about it. Following his graduation from high school in 1977, Gaiman became a journalist writing articles for a number of renowned publications such as the Sunday Times, the Observer, Knave, and Time Out.&nbsp;
In March 1985, Gaiman married McGrath after the birth of their son Michael in 1983. The couple had two more children, Holly and Madeleine. In 1984, Gaiman wrote his first book, a biography of the band Duran Duran. He continued writing articles and interviews in magazines under pseudonyms. However, in 1987, Gaiman waved goodbye to journalism, stating, “British newspapers can make up anything they want and publish it as fact.”&nbsp;
Also, in the late 1980s, Gaiman published Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion. Gaiman started writing comic books, continuing the series of Marvelman after its original creator and Gaiman’s friend Alan Moore abandoned it. After his impressive work on Marvelman, Gaiman was offered to write the limited series of Black Orchard and also to re-write an old character, The Sandman. From December 1988 to March 1966, Gaiman produced work on The Sandman, which was later collected in 12 volumes.&nbsp;
More significant comic works by Neil Gaiman include The Books of Magic (1989), Lady Justice, and Mr. Hero. The Newmatic Man, Teknophage, Tales of the White Wolf, Whatever happened to the Caper Crusader, as well as contributions to Wednesday Comics.

Neil

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which is widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools. His most recent series, the young adult Pathfinder series (Pathfinder, Ruins, Visitors), and the fantasy Mithermages series (Lost Gate, Gate Thief, Gatefather), are taking readers in new directions.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel, and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts, including his "freshened" Shakespeare scripts for Romeo &amp; Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Merchant of Venice.
Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University.
Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card. His primary activities are writing a review column for the local Rhinoceros Times and feeding birds, squirrels, chipmunks, possums, and raccoons on the patio.

Orson

Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of October 3, 2022, Knight was ranked by Forbes as the 27th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$35.2 billion. He is also the owner of the stop motion film production company Laika.&nbsp;
Knight is a graduate of the University of Oregon and Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was in the track and field club under coach Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon, with whom he would co-found Nike. Knight has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to each of his alma maters, as well as Oregon Health &amp; Science University. He has donated over $2 billion to the three institutions.

Phil

Born in New York in 1919, Jerome David Salinger dropped out of several schools before enrolling in a writing class at Columbia University, publishing his first piece ("The Young Folks") in Story magazine. Soon after, the New Yorker picked up the heralded "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," and more pieces followed, including "Slight Rebellion off Madison" in 1941, an early Holden Caulfield story. Following a stint in Europe for World War II, Salinger returned to New York and began work on his signature novel, 1951's "The Catcher in the Rye," an immediate bestseller for its iconoclastic hero and forthright use of profanity.&nbsp;
Following this success, Salinger retreated to his Cornish, New Hampshire, home where he grew increasingly private, eventually erecting a wall around his property and publishing just three more books: "Nine Stories," "Franny and Zooey," "Raise High the Roof Beam, and Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction." Salinger was married twice and had two children. He died of natural causes on January 27, 2010, in New Hampshire at the age of 91.

J.D.

Alexandre Dumas, père (French for "father," akin to Senior in English), born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a French writer, best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure, which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. Many of his novels, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne, were serialized. Dumas also wrote plays and magazine articles and was a prolific correspondent.
Dumas was of Haitian descent and mixed race. His father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) to Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, a French nobleman, and Marie-Cessette Dumas, a black slave. At age 14, Thomas-Alexandre was taken by his father to France, where he was educated in a military academy and entered the military for what became an illustrious career.
Dumas's father's aristocratic rank helped young Alexandre Dumas acquire work with Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, then as a writer, finding early success. He became one of the leading authors of the French Romantic Movement in Paris.

Alexandre

Sir William Gerald Golding CBE FRSL was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel Lord of the Flies (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980, he was awarded the Booker Prize for Rites of Passage, the first novel in his sea trilogy, To the Ends of the Earth. He was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Literature.
As a result of his contributions to literature, Golding was knighted in 1988. In addition, he was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2008, The Times ranked Golding third on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945."
While still a teacher at Bishop Wordsworth's School in 1951, Golding began writing a manuscript of the novel initially titled Strangers from Within. In September 1953, after rejections from seven other publishers, Golding sent a manuscript to Faber and Faber and was initially rejected by their reader, Jan Perkins, who labeled it as "Rubbish &amp; dull. Pointless". His book, however, was championed by Charles Monteith, a new editor at the firm. Monteith asked for changes to the text, and the novel was published in September 1954 as Lord of the Flies.
After moving in 1958 from Salisbury to nearby Bowerchalke, he met his fellow villager and walking companion James Lovelock. The two discussed Lovelock's hypothesis that the living matter of the planet Earth functions like a single organism. Golding suggested naming this hypothesis after Gaia, the personification of the Earth in Greek mythology and the mother of the Titans. His publishing success made it possible for Golding to resign from his teaching post at Bishop Wordsworth's School in 1961. Instead, he spent that academic year in the United States as a writer-in-residence at Hollins College (now Hollins University) near Roanoke, Virginia.
Golding won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Darkness Visible in 1979 and the Booker Prize for Rites of Passage in 1980. In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and was, according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, "an unexpected and even contentious choice." In 1988, Golding was appointed a Knight Bachelor. Then, in September 1993, only a few months after his unexpected death, the First International William Golding Conference was held in France.
His first novel, Lord of the Flies, describes a group of boys stranded on a tropical island descending into a lawless and increasingly wild existence before being rescued. The Inheritors (1955) depicts a tribe of gentle Neanderthals encountering modern humans, who, by comparison, are deceitful and violent. His 1956 novel Pincher Martin records the thoughts of a drowning sailor. Free Fall (1959) explores the issue of freedom of choice. The novel's narrator, a World War Two soldier in a German POW Camp, endures interrogation and solitary confinement.
After these events and while recollecting the experiences, he looks back over his choices, trying to trace precisely where he lost the freedom to make his own decisions. The Spire (1964) follows the construction (and near collapse) of an impossibly large spire on the top of a medieval cathedral (generally assumed to be Salisbury Cathedral).
Golding's 1967 novel, The Pyramid, consists of three linked stories with a shared setting in a small English town based partly on Marlborough, where Golding grew up. The Scorpion God (1971) contains three novellas. The first is set in an ancient Egyptian court ("The Scorpion God"); the second describes a prehistoric African hunter-gatherer group ("Clonk, Clonk"); and the third is in the court of a Roman emperor ("Envoy Extraordinary"). The last of these, initially published in 1956, was reworked by Golding into a play, The Brass Butterfly, in 1958. From 1971 to 1979, Golding published no novels. After this period, he published Darkness Visible (1979): a story involving terrorism, pedophilia, and a mysterious figure who survives a fire in the Blitz and appears to have supernatural powers.
In 1980, Golding published Rites of Passage, the first of his novels about a voyage to Australia in the early nineteenth century. The book won the Booker Prize in 1980, and Golding followed this success with Close Quarters (1987) and Fire Down Below (1989) to complete his 'sea trilogy,' later published as one volume entitled To the Ends of the Earth. In 1984, he published The Paper Men: an account of the struggles between a novelist and his would-be biographer.

William

Ernest Cline is an internationally best-selling novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. He is the author of the novels Ready Player One and Armada and co-screenwriter of the film adaptation of Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg. His books have been published in over fifty countries and have spent more than 100 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.
Cline was born and raised in Ashland, Ohio, the son of Ernest Christy Cline and Faye Imogene (née Williams) Cline. As a youth in the 1970s and 1980s, Cline was "addicted to video games and movies," especially Star Wars, the movies of John Hughes, and the tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons &amp; Dragons. He worked in information technology in his twenties and worked on screenwriting during his spare time.

Ernest

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and a Fellow of Pembroke College, both at the University of Oxford. He then moved to the same university to become the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and a Fellow of Merton College.&nbsp;
He held these positions from 1945 until his retirement in 1959. Tolkien was a close friend of C. S. Lewis, a co-member of the informal literary discussion group The Inklings. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972. After Tolkien's death, his son Christopher published a series of works based on his father's extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. Together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, these form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda and Middle-earth.&nbsp;
Between 1951 and 1955, Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the more significant part of these writings. While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused him to be popularly identified as the "father" of modern fantasy literature—or, more precisely, of high fantasy.
Tolkien's fantasy books on Middle-earth, especially The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, drew on many influences, including his philological interest in language, Christianity, mythology, archaeology, ancient and modern literature, and personal experience. His philological work centered on studying Old English literature, especially Beowulf, and he acknowledged its importance to his writings. In addition, he was a gifted linguist, influenced by Germanic, Celtic, Finnish, and Greek languages and mythology.

J.R.R.

Rohinton

With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recalls the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity, and heroism, of India.  A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry, is set in 1975 during the State of Emergency imposed on India by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.  The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea.
&nbsp;The government has just declared the State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers—a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village—will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future. As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state. "

A breakout literary phenomenon and #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Rupi Kaur wrote, illustrated, and self-published her first poetry collection, 'milk and honey' in 2014. Next came its artistic sibling, 'the sun and her flowers', in 2017. These collections have sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into over 40 languages. Her latest poetry collection, 'home body', debuted at #1 on bestseller lists across the world. As she has done from the very beginning, Rupi self-produced Rupi Kaur Live, the first poetry special of its kind, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video in 2021.&nbsp;
Rupi Kaur has also graced the stage across the globe on world tours, performing her poetry across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the UK, Europe, and more. Intertwined with visuals, music, comedy, and anecdotes, Rupi performs her classic poems and unpublished pieces, tailoring each show to the city she visits.&nbsp;
Rupi’s work touches on love, loss, trauma, healing, femininity, and migration. She feels most at home when creating art, performing her poetry onstage, and spending time with family and friends.

Rupi

Oprah Winfrey is a media mogul, philanthropist, and one of the most influential women in the world. Born in Mississippi in 1954, Winfrey had a difficult childhood marked by poverty and abuse. Yet, despite these challenges, she developed a love of reading and storytelling at an early age, and by the time she was in high school, she was already a skilled public speaker.
After high school, Winfrey attended Tennessee State University and began her career in media as a radio and television host. In 1976, she was hired as the first African American female anchor for the evening news at WTVF-TV in Nashville, Tennessee. From there, she hosted a local talk show in Baltimore, Maryland, called "People Are Talking."
In 1983, Winfrey landed her own nationally syndicated talk show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which ran for 25 years and became the highest-rated talk show in the history of American television. Through the show, Winfrey built a massive following and became one of the most popular and influential figures in the United States. She interviewed many guests, from celebrities and politicians to everyday people, with inspiring stories.
In addition to her talk show, Winfrey has also built a successful career as an actress, producer, and entrepreneur. She has appeared in films like "The Color Purple" and "Lee Daniels' The Butler," and has produced hit shows such as "Dr. Phil" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." She also runs her own media production company, Harpo Productions, and owns the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) cable network.
Winfrey is also known for her philanthropic work and has used her wealth and platform to support various causes, including education, women's rights, and poverty relief. In 1986, she established the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, which provides education and leadership training to underprivileged young women. She also founded the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which supports organizations that empower women and children.
Throughout her career, Winfrey has been recognized for her media, entertainment, and philanthropy contributions. She has won numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and is considered one of the most powerful and influential figures in the United States.

Oprah

Jacqueline Novogratz is a social entrepreneur, author, and speaker. She is the founder and CEO of Acumen. This global nonprofit organization uses patient capital to build businesses that serve low-income communities in Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and the United States.
Before founding Acumen, Novogratz worked as a Wall Street analyst and consultant at McKinsey &amp; Company. She also worked as a development worker and social entrepreneur for several years in West Africa.
In her book "The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World," Novogratz tells the story of her journey to understand poverty and her experiences working in Africa and with social entrepreneurs. She got her Bachelor's degree in Economics and International Relations from the University of Virginia. She also holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Novogratz has been recognized as a leader in impact investing and social entrepreneurship. She was included in the Time 100 list in the year 2011. The Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as selected by Time magazine. The Time 100 list is divided into categories such as leaders, artists, and icons, and Novogratz was listed in the "Leaders" category. Being part of this list is an excellent recognition of the impact and influence of the organization's work and her contributions to the field of impact investing and social entrepreneurship.

Jacqueline

Alicia Keys is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and actress. She was born on January 25, 1981, in Manhattan, New York City, and began playing the piano at the age of seven.
Keys began her music career in the late 1990s and early 2000s, releasing her debut album, "Songs in A Minor," in 2001. The album was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide and winning five Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'."
In addition to her successful music career, Keys is also known for her activism and philanthropy. She is the co-founder of Keep a Child Alive, an organization that provides medication and healthcare to children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. She is also a member of the board of directors for the Harlem Children's Zone. This non-profit organization provides education and support services to children and families in Harlem, New York.
Keys has also acted in several films, including "The Nanny Diaries" (2007) and "Smokin' Aces" (2006). She also made guest appearances in several TV shows.
Alicia Keys has won numerous awards throughout her career. In addition to the five Grammy Awards she won for her debut album "Songs in A Minor," she has won a total of 15 Grammys, including Best R&amp;B Album for "The Diary of Alicia Keys" (2004) and "As I Am" (2008), and Best R&amp;B Song for "No One" (2008).
She has also won numerous other awards, including multiple BET Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and American Music Awards. Keys has also been honored with several humanitarian awards for her work with Keep a Child Alive and other charitable organizations.
In addition to her music awards, Keys has received numerous accolades for her activism and philanthropy. She was honored with the "Keep A Child Alive Black Ball Award" in 2007 and was named one of Glamour magazine's "Women of the Year" in 2008.
In 2013, Keys was honored with the "Billboard Women in Music's Powerhouse Award." In 2019 she received an award from the "She Is the Music" organization which works to empower female songwriters, composers, and producers.
It's worth mentioning that her recognition goes beyond the music industry. She has also been honored by various organizations for her philanthropy and activism, such as the "Keep A Child Alive Black Ball Award" in 2007 and the "Harlem School of Arts Visionary Leadership Award" in 2010.
Keys continues to be one of the most successful and respected musicians of her generation and has sold over 65 million records worldwide. She is also known for her powerful and soulful voice, as well as her skillful piano playing. She continues to release albums, tour, and do philanthropic work and activism.

Alicia

Oprah Winfrey

Salman Rushdie

Margaret Atwood

Jhumpa Lahiri

Kiran Desai

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry shows us the incredible resilience of the human spirit. Despite the harsh realities of life, the characters in the book find ways to endure and even find moments of joy. It's a reminder that no matter what life throws at us, we can always find a way to keep going.

The Power of Resilience

The book gives us a glimpse into the political turmoil in India during the 1970s. It shows how political decisions can drastically affect the lives of ordinary people. It's a call to stay informed and involved in the political process, as it can have a direct impact on our lives.

The Impact of Political Turmoil

In A Fine Balance, the characters form unlikely friendships that help them navigate through life's challenges. These relationships provide comfort, support, and even a sense of family. It's a reminder to cherish our friendships, as they can be a source of strength during tough times.

The Importance of Friendship

Rohinton Mistry doesn't shy away from exploring the harsh realities of social injustice in India. From caste discrimination to gender inequality, the book encourages us to look into these issues and advocate for change.

The Reality of Social Injustice

Despite the hardships faced by the characters in A Fine Balance, they never lose hope. This sense of hope is what keeps them going, even in the face of adversity. It's a powerful message about the importance of maintaining hope, no matter how bleak things may seem.

The Value of Hope

A Fine Balance

Rohinton Mistry was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, in 1952. He graduated with a degree in Mathematics from the University of Bombay in 1974. He emigrated to Canada with his wife the following year, settling in Toronto, where he worked as a bank clerk, studying English and Philosophy part-time at the University of Toronto and completing his second degree in 1982.&nbsp;
Mistry wrote his first short story, 'One Sunday,' in 1983, winning First Prize in the Canadian Hart House Literary Contest (an award he also won the following year for his short story 'Auspicious Occasion'). It was followed in 1985 by the Annual Contributors' Award from the Canadian Fiction Magazine, and afterward, with the aid of a Canada Council grant, he left his job to become a full-time writer.&nbsp;
His early stories were published in a number of Canadian magazines, and his short-story collection, Tales from Firozsha Baag, was first published in Canada in 1987 (later published in the UK in 1992). He is the author of three novels: Such a Long Journey (1991), the story of a Bombay bank clerk who unwittingly becomes involved in a fraud committed by the government, which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book), A Fine Balance (1996), set during the State of Emergency in India in the 1970s, and Family Matters (2002), which tells the story of an elderly Parsi widower living in Bombay with his step-children.&nbsp;
Such a Long Journey and A Fine Balance were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction, and Family Matters was shortlisted for the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

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A Fine Balance

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A Fine Balance

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