"India," to quote actress and human rights activist Shabana Azmi, "is a country that lives in several centuries simultaneously." Just as those different time periods seem to coexist in one place, so do the voices of brilliant literary talents and accomplished nonfiction writers with roots in India. Through their works and platforms, each of these writers has contributed to helping the world better understand this expansive country and its multifaceted culture, whether it be from within India’s own borders or distant continents. Below we celebrate notable authors from India or of Indian heritage and offer highlights of their outstanding works, both fiction and nonfiction.
Fiction
Salman Rushdie
An expert in blending the historic with the mythic, Salman Rushdie is as brilliant as he is prolific. His seemingly limitless catalog can sometimes overwhelm those trying to decide where to start. A great place to begin is one of his most approachable works, Midnight's Children, brilliantly narrated by Lyndam Gregory. This Booker Prize-winning novel tells the story of Saleem and India, two children born in the first hour of India's independence from British rule. Though not identical twins, they are nevertheless bound to mirror each other's ambiguous trysts with destiny. Then make your way to Rushdie’s controversial The Satanic Verses, and check out his Booker Prize-shortlisted Quichotte or his most recently published work, the story collection The Eleventh Hour.
Arundhati Roy
Known for her bold political commentary in both fiction and nonfiction, Arundhati Roy is not afraid to tell it like it is. Winner of the 1997 Booker Prize for her debut novel The God of Small Things, Roy captivates listeners with her richly detailed portrayals of India’s culture and changing landscape, including The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, whose searing commentary on lives in crises plays out across the subcontinent, from the streets of Old Delhi to the valleys of Kashmir. For a personal lens on the author, listen to her debut memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me. One of Audible’s Best Audiobooks of 2025, this deeply moving, author-narrated work delves into Roy’s complex relationship with her late mother, who shaped her life, outlook, and writing.
Kiran Desai
After a childhood in Delhi, Punjab, and Mumbai, Kiran Desai left India with her mother, the novelist Anita Desai, to live in England before settling in the United States. In 2006, eight years after making her fiction debut, she gained international acclaim with her second book, The Inheritance of Loss. Exploring themes of identity, culture clash, and colonialism, the novel won the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award and the Man Booker Prize. Desai went on to work with the Gates Foundation, reporting on a community of sex workers in southern India, and received the Columbia University Medal for Excellence. In 2025, after a break of nearly two decades, she released her third novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. The accomplished Sneha Mathan narrates this sweeping work, a family saga and love story intertwined with an exploration of class, race, country, and history.
Chetan Bhagat
One of India’s most acclaimed and popular contemporary authors, Chetan Bhagat deserves recognition for making satire more mainstream in Indian fiction. With many of his novels adapted into Bollywood films, Bhagat’s rise to fame has been swift, and his audio catalog is impressive. Start with Five Point Someone, narrated by Sartaj Garewal, which pokes holes in the elitist and rigid ideologies of one of the leading engineering schools in India. Then, dive into One Indian Girl, narrated by Kamakshi Rai. Writing for the first time in a female voice, Bhagat tells the story of a modern Indian woman who makes a lot of money working at Goldman Sachs, has a romantic past, and is about to get married.
Jhumpa Lahiri
If there is any one author who captures the quest to belong to a physical place, it is Jhumpa Lahiri. With prose that casts a spell, Lahiri often writes about immigrants who are clinging to parts of their home and elements of their identity. While there is no one right place to start with the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s work, The Namesake, narrated by Sarita Choudhry, is a great first listen. To expand on her novels, check out Lahiri’s Translating Myself and Others, a collection of lyrical essays reflecting on her emerging identity as a translator as well as a writer in both English and Italian.
Sandhya Menon
Born in Mumbai, Sandhya Menon moved to the US as a teenager. As she has shared, she often struggled with growing up in two different cultures. A die-hard fan of Bollywood films, she channeled her passion for drama and romance into writing. When her debut novel When Dimple Met Rishi released in 2017, listeners fell head over heels for the central teen duo and their opposites-attract romance. Fans wanted more and Menon delivered, with three other audiobooks following to round out the "Dimpleverse." Sneha Mathan and Vikas Adam narrate the entire series, creating a cohesive listening experience perfectly suited to this sweet story. In 2020, Menon delighted YA listeners again with the debut of a series set an elite boarding school, Rosetta Academy.
Megha Majumdar
Megha Majumdar moved to the US in 2006 to study social anthropology at Harvard and went on to earn her master’s degree from John’s Hopkins University. She made her fiction debut in 2020 with A Burning. Winner of a Whiting Award, this gripping novel starts when Jivan, a young Muslim woman, posts a political comment on social media, which spirals into a chain of events that lands her in prison before the night is over. The versatile Hall of Fame narrator Vikas Adam leads the multicast performance. For her second novel, Majumdar chose a familiar setting, her hometown of Kolkata, to explore the dark side of the immigrant experience. A National Book Award finalist, A Guardian and a Thief paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each discovering how far they will go to secure their children’s future as they stave off encroaching catastrophe. Leela Tapryal and a full cast bring this nightmare scenario to life.
A Burning
By Megha Majumdar
Narrated by Vikas Adam, Priya Ayyar, Deepti Gupta, Soneela Nankani, Neil Shah, Ulka Simone Mohanty
Indu Sundaresan
Combining in-depth historical research with riveting storytelling, Indu Sundaresan does for India’s Mughal Court what Philippa Gregory did for England’s Tudor Court in The Taj Mahal trilogy. If you’re eager to travel deep into India’s past and fascinated by royal dramas, this epic is sure to satisfy and where you should undoubtedly start with Sundaresan’s work. It tells the captivating story of one of India’s most controversial empresses—a woman whose brilliance and determination triumphed over myriad obstacles and whose love shaped the course of the Mughal Empire. Each volume is eloquently narrated by Sneha Mathan.
Deepa Anappara
Deepa Anappara built a career as a journalist in Mumbai and Delhi before turning to fiction. Her groundbreaking debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, vividly evokes the realities of the Indian basti (slum) through the story of a nine-year-old boy and his friends, who start digging into the disappearance of one of their schoolmates. Unfolding via different characters, this gritty mystery is performed by a full cast of talented narrators, including the fantastic Indira Varma. In her second novel, Anappara revisits India’s colonial past. The Last of Earth follows two outsiders—an Indian schoolteacher spying for the British empire and an English “lady” explorer—as they venture into the mystical, forbidden kingdom of Tibet.
Alisha Rai
With stereotypes pervading the romance genre, Alisha Rai breaks convention by presenting characters who are flawed yet fierce. Start with her popular Forbidden Hearts trilogy, and be sure to make time to fully enjoy the sizzle. After those steamy listens, move on to her Modern Love series, featuring strong women falling in love and getting things done.
Nonfiction
Jay Shetty
Born in north London in 1987, Jay Shetty was raised in a middle-class Indian family. Growing up, he’s said he was expected to become either a doctor, a lawyer, or a failure. In college, he channeled his drive to understand success into reading autobiographies of everyone from Malcolm X to David Beckham. His life changed when, at a friend’s urging, he went to hear a talk given by a monk. After graduation, he traveled to Mumbai and joined an ashram. Later, he left the monk’s path to share his learnings with others. Launched in 2019, his podcast On Purpose received 52 million downloads in its first year. He expanded his message on living with intention and mindfulness with his 2020 debut book, Think Like a Monk. In his latest work, the Audible Original Messy Love, Shetty builds on the principles shared through his bestselling books and viral talks to help three couples navigate the complicated terrain of modern relationships.
Mindy Kaling
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Mindy Kaling grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, transfixed by TV sketch comedies like In Living Color. After majoring in theater and dabbling in improv at Dartmouth, she and a friend cowrote and costarred in Matt & Ben, which had a two-year Off-Broadway run. That play's success got Kaling recruited to write for the American spinoff of hit British TV comedy The Office, in which Kaling also starred as the iconic character Kelly Kapoor. Next, she developed, wrote, produced, and starred in her own series, The Mindy Project. In addition to her memoirs Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? and Why Not Me?, Kaling has written and narrated several collections of hilarious essays. Her latest, Nothing Like I Imagined, includes a comic take on learning about her family’s religious heritage, “Kind of Hindu.”
Sanjay Gupta
An Emmy Award-winning medical correspondent and a licensed neurosurgeon, Sanjay Gupta, MD, is the proud son of Indian immigrants. Born and raised in suburban Michigan, he was drawn to biomedical sciences from a young age. As an undergrad at the University of Michigan, he served as president of the Indian American Students Association. He joined CNN in 2001 and has since covered the health aspects and personal toll of military invasions, humanitarian crises, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to his work as a reporter and commentator, Dr. Gupta has written and narrated several books on health, wellness, and longevity. Among his recent bestsellers is Keep Sharp: How to Build a Better Brain at Any Age.
Lilly Singh
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Lilly Singh developed a strong connection with her Punjabi heritage during her visits to India as a young adult. After battling depression, she became an international sensation with her YouTube channel, Superwoman, securing millions of subscribers. Part memoir and part self-development guide, How to Be a Bawse recounts the story of Singh’s rise to fame as an actress and comedian, with insights into what kept her going despite failures and setbacks. The only way to fully experience this success story and its lessons is in audio, narrated with confidence and humor by Singh herself. Singh also narrates her follow-up, Be a Triangle, a no-nonsense guide to achieving happiness.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
As the daughter of two military physicians, Priyanka Chopra Jonas spent her childhood moving from post to post around India. At 13, she came to the United States to study, living with her aunt. Shortly after returning to India, she won the Miss World pageant and launched her highly successful, dual-continent career as an actor and producer. In her debut memoir Unfinished, which she narrates, Chopra Jonas reflects on the challenges along her journey of self-discovery. From navigating fame as India’s highest-paid actress to committing to her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, from losing her beloved father to cancer to finding unexpected love with Nick Jonas, the author shares her story to inspire anyone to embrace their ambition and complexities.
Nusrah Javed can be found writing at Book Riot, or doing her job of recommending books to those who ask (and those who don’t).
