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Anees Salim is an Indian author known for his books like Vanity Bagh, The Blind Lady's Descendants and the Small Town Sea. He is from the town of Varkala, and now lives in Kochi, Kerala. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for The Blind Lady's Descendants in 2018, becoming only the fourth Malayalee in history to win the award for an English work. Some of his columns have appeared in newspaper The Indian Express.

Life and career

Anees Salim was born in Varkala, a small town in Kerala, in 1970. In an interview to The Hindu, Salim says he inherited his love for words from his father who used to work in West Asia. Salim is the Executive Creative Director for FCB Ulka, the multi-national advertising firm, and lives in Kochi. Despite his background in PR and advertising, Salim makes a point of avoiding promotional tours and speaking at literary festivals.

In an interview to the Earthen Lamp Journal, Salim talks about how his first two novels were rejected by publishers. It was his third book, Tales from a Vending Machine, that helped his career as a writer take off. Sold to a publisher within a week, it renewed interest in his other works and, as Salim says, "fetched me four book deals."

Awards and honours

• 2013 - The Hindu Literary Prize for Vanity Bagh. The prize was announced by novelist Jim Crace in the valedictory function of the Hindu Lit for Life festival held in Chennai during 12–14 January 2014.
• 2015 - Crossword Book Award in Indian Fiction for The Blind Lady’s Descendants
• 2017 - Bangalore Atta Galatta Literature Book Festival's Best Fiction (English) for The Small Town Sea
• 2017 - The Hindu Prize shortlist for the Small Town Sea
• 2017 - Tata Literature Live! Book of the Year Award (Fiction) shortlist for the Small Town Sea
• 2018 - Sahitya Akademi Award (English category), for The Blind Lady's Descendants
• 2022 - JCB Longlist for The Odd Book of Baby Names
• 2022 - Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Longlist for The Odd Book of Baby Names
• 2022 - Valley of Words Best Book Award for The Odd Book of Baby Names

Works

• The Vicks Mango Tree (2012) HarperCollins
• Tales From A Vending Machine (2013) HarperCollins
• Vanity Bagh (2013) Picador
• The Blind Lady’s Descendants (2014) Penguin
• The Small-Town Sea (2017) Penguin Hamish Hamilton
• The Odd Book of Baby Names (2021) Penguin Hamish Hamilton
• The Bellboy(2022) Penguin Hamish Hamilton & Holland House

References

1. "Kerala: Akademi Award raises readers' expectations, says Anees Salim". The New Indian Express. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
2. "Anees Salim". The Indian Express. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
3. ^ Balakrishnan, Suneetha (15 November 2012). "Living with words". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
4. "Earthen Lamp Journal". www.earthenlampjournal.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
5. Balakrishnan, Suneetha (15 November 2012). "Living with Words". The Hindu. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
6. Preetha T S (27 September 2012). "Kochi writer hits the Inglish jackpot". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 August 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
7. "The Shortlist for The Hindu Best Fiction Prize Declared". Current Books. 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
8. Staff writer (9 November 2013). "The Hindu Prize 2013 Shortlist". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
9. Staff writer (14 January 2014). "Anees Salim bags The Hindu Prize for Best Fiction 2013". The Hindu. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
10. Zafar Anjum (29 April 2015). "India: Raymond Crossword Book Award 2014 winners announced". kitaab.org. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
11. Staff Reporter (21 October 2017). "Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize 2017 announced". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
12. "The Hindu Prize 2017 shortlist is out". The Hindu. 28 October 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
13. "Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest announces shortlists for five coveted Book Awards via @tatacompanies". tata.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
14. Narayanan, Kiran (7 December 2018). "Kerala: Akademi Award raises readers' expectations, says Anees Salim". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 16 December 2018.

15.https://thewire.in/books/interview-anees-salim-religious-polarisation-family-dynamics
16.https://scroll.in/article/1015654/i-dont-see-death-as-the-end-but-the-beginning-writer-anees-salim

17.https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/interview-anees-salim-author-of-the-odd-book-of-baby-names-humour-runs-on-a-parallel-track-101641566450475.html
18. https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-can-talk-for-the-author-anees-salim/article38272851.ece
19. https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/2021/dec/12/i-write-to-calm-myself-down-2393968.html
20. https://thepunchmagazine.com/the-byword/interviews/anees-salim-amp-lsquo-surrounded-by-people-we-mimic-normalcy-in-private-we-are-all-oddballs-amp-rsquo
21. https://www.theweek.in/theweek/leisure/2022/09/17/anees-salim-returns-to-his-obsession-with-death-in-his-new-book.html
22. https://www.grazia.co.in/lifestyle/culture/anees-salim-gets-candid-about-his-coming-of-age-novel-by-the-sea-9933.html
23. https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/books/anees-salim-the-heirs-of-the-king/
24. https://caravanmagazine.in/tag/anees-salim
25. https://dailygoodmorningkashmir.com/anees-salim-a-muslim-star-on-indian-literary-firmament/
26. https://www.platform-mag.com/literature/anees-salim.html
27. https://bombaylitmag.com/anees-salim-interviewed-by-tblm-staff/
28. https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai-guide/famous-personalities/article/the-curious-case-of-anees-salim-16233196
29. https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/i-m-brimming-with-sadness-writing-alleviates-pain-novelist-anees-salim-118122900579_1.html
30. https://www.forbesindia.com/article/think/labels-and-rebels-in-anees-salims-novels/40437/1
31. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sunday-chronicle/shelf-life/020717/i-like-to-keep-my-world-small-and-quiet-says-anees-salim.html
32. https://www.firstpost.com/living/sahitya-akademi-winner-anees-salim-on-staying-away-from-public-eye-value-of-awards-and-solitude-5790701.html
33. https://www.asianage.com/age-on-sunday/030219/small-town-tales.html
34. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/wknd/i-always-wanted-to-be-invisible-anees-salim
35. https://www.readersdigest.in/culturescape/story-anees-salims-list-of-favourites-124631
36. https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/book-reviews/coming-age-story-muslim-boy-wins-indias-highest-literary-prize-leeya-mehta

External links

• Anees Salim's page on his publisher's site
• An interview in Business World
• Interview at Earthen Lamp Journal
• Review of The Blind Lady's Descendants by Suneetha Balakrishnan
• Review of Vanity Bagh by Suneetha Balakrishnan

https://scroll.in/article/1015654/i-dont-see-death-as-the-end-but-the-beginning-writer-anees-salim

https://thewire.in/books/interview-anees-salim-religious-polarisation-family-dynamics

• Indian male novelists
• Writers from Kochi
• Indian advertising people
• Living people
• People from Varkala
• Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in English