Influencers to explore

Explore writers whose work has had a lasting impact across time and geographies

Ghalib

Poetry & Verse

Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan (27 December 1797 –“ 15 February 1869), commonly known as Mirza Ghalib, was an Indian poet and letter writer of the Mughal Empire. Writing in Persian and Urdu during the final years of the Mughal Empire and the rise of British colonial rule, his poetry often addressed themes of love, loss, philosophy, the human condition, and socio-political disturbances with a depth and complexity that influenced the literary traditions of his time.

Zauq

Poetry & Verse

Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq (1789 –“ November 1854) was an Urdu poet and scholar of literature, poetry and religion. He wrote poetry under the pen name "Zauq", and was appointed poet laureate of the Mughal Court in Delhi at the age of just 19. Later he was given the title of Khaqani-e-Hind (The Khaqani of India) by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar who was also his disciple in poetry.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Philosophical Fiction

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (11 November [O.S. 30 October] 1821 –“ 9 February [O.S. 28 January] 1881) was a Russian philosopher, novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces.

Recommended reading:

The Idiot

Ernest Hemingway

Literary Fiction

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 –“ July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle and outspoken, blunt public image. Some of his seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works have become classics of American literature, and he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Recommended reading:

The Old Man and the Sea

Joseph Heller

Literary Fiction

Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 –“ December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is his debut novel Catch-22 (1961), a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an absurd or contradictory choice. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twice, in 1972 and 1975.

Recommended reading:

Catch-22

Khushwant Singh

Historical & Cultural

Khushwant Singh (1915–“2014) was an Indian journalist, writer, and politician. He is known for his autobiographical works and his contributions to Indian literature.

Recommended reading:

Train to Pakistan

Gulzar

Poetry & Verse

Gulzar (Sampooran Singh Kalra) is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as an important Urdu poet of this era.

Recommended reading:

Mirza Ghalib
Do Log

Yuval Noah Harari

Philosophical Fiction

Public intellectual and popular science writer. He is a professor of history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.His first bestselling book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011) is based on his lectures to an undergraduate world history class.

Maria Ressa

Contemporary & Experimental

Journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN.

Recommended reading:

How to Stand Up to a Dictator

Matt Haig

Contemporary & Experimental

Matt Haig (born 3 July 1975) is an English author and journalist. He has written both fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults, often in the speculative fiction genre.

Salman Rushdie

Literary Fiction

Salman Rushdie is a British Indian novelist and non-fiction writer. He is known for his novels "Midnight's Children" which , won the Booker Prize in 1981 and was deemed to be "the best novel of all winners" on two occasions that marked the 25th and the 40th anniversary of the prize.

Recommended reading:

Midnight's Children

Mitch Albom

Contemporary & Experimental

Mitch Albom is an American author, journalist, and radio host. He is known for his novels "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven."

Recommended reading:

Tuesdays with Morrie

Manav Kaul

Contemporary & Experimental

Manav Kaul is an Indian theatre director, playwright, author, actor and filmmaker. Kaul is a writer who writes on themes of isolation, nostalgia, rootlessness and existentialism etc. Some of his notable books include Chalta Phirta Pret, Antima, Bahut Door Kitna Door Hota hai, Theek Tumhare Peeche. Kaul's recently published novel Rooh explores his journey back to his lost motherland, Kashmir