A Compelling Protagonist

Dur e Aziz Amna is a Pakistan-born Australian writer and author of A Splintering, winner of the Stanford Prize for Fiction, shortlisted for the Nota Bene Prize, and a BBC Book Club pick. Her previous novel, American Fever, won the South Asian Book Award and the APALA Award for Literature. Her work also appears in the New York Times, Financial Times, and Al Jazeera, amongst others. She was selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022 and has won the Salam Prize and the Financial Times and Bodley Head Essay Prize. She is a graduate of Yale College and the Helen Zell Writers' Programme at the University of Michigan.

Dur e Aziz Amna adalah seorang penulis Australia yang lahir di Pakistan dan penulis A Splintering, pemenang Stanford Prize for Fiction, masuk daftar pendek untuk Nota Bene Prize, dan BBC Book Club pick. Novel sebelumnya, American Fever, memenangkan South Asian Book Award dan APALA Award for Literature. Karyanya juga muncul di New York Times, Financial Times, dan Al Jazeera, antara lain. Dia dipilih sebagai Forbes 30 Under 30 pada tahun 2022 dan telah memenangkan Salam Prize dan Financial Times dan Bodley Head Essay Prize. Dia adalah lulusan dari Yale College dan Helen Zell Writers' Programme di University of Michigan.

Katie Kitamura is an American novelist, journalist, and art critic known for her minimalist and psychologically intense prose. Her latest novel, Audition, was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize and was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize. It was also a finalist for the Gotham Book Prize and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and longlisted for the Women's Prize and the Carol Shields Prize. Her previous novel, Intimacies, was one of The New York Times' 10 Best Books of 2021, longlisted for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and one of President Obama's Favourite Books of 2021. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Rome Prize in Literature, Berlin Prize, Cullman Center Fellowship and the Prix Littéraire Lucien Barrière, Kitamura's work has been translated into 29 languages and is being adapted for film. She teaches in the Creative Writing Programme at New York University.

Katie Kitamura adalah seorang penulis Amerika, jurnalis, dan kritikus seni yang dikenal karena prosa minimalnya yang intens secara psikologis. Novel terbarunya, Audition, masuk dalam daftar pendek Penghargaan Booker 2025 dan menjadi finalis untuk Penghargaan Pulitzer 2026. Karya ini juga menjadi finalis untuk Penghargaan Gotham Book, Penghargaan Joyce Carol Oates, dan masuk dalam daftar panjang Penghargaan Women's Prize serta Penghargaan Carol Shields. Novel sebelumnya, Intimacies, merupakan salah satu dari 10 Buku Terbaik The New York Times tahun 2021, masuk dalam daftar panjang Penghargaan Buku Nasional dan Penghargaan PEN/Faulkner, serta menjadi salah satu Buku Favorit Presiden Obama tahun 2021. Sebagai penerima Guggenheim Fellowship, Rome Prize in Literature, Berlin Prize, Cullman Center Fellowship, dan Prix Littéraire Lucien Barrière, karya Kitamura telah diterjemahkan ke dalam 29 bahasa dan sedang diadaptasi untuk film. Dia mengajar di Program Penulisan Kreatif Universitas New York.

Mahita Vas is a Singaporean author who has published five books, with 15 Grams as her fifth. Mahita was born in Singapore to South Asian parents and educated at a Catholic school. After diverse roles in hospitality and advertising, she gave up corporate life for writing, and is a staunch advocate for mental health and migrant worker welfare. She counts novels, cake, and Singaporean street food as her greatest weaknesses. On any given day, she can be found either immersed in a book or enjoying a meal at a hawker centre. Mahita has twin daughters in their thirties and lives in Singapore with her husband.

Mahita Vas adalah seorang penulis asal Singapura yang telah menerbitkan lima buku, dengan 15 Grams sebagai buku kelimanya. Mahita lahir di Singapura dari orang tua keturunan Asia Selatan dan menempuh pendidikan di sekolah Katolik. Setelah menjalani berbagai peran di bidang perhotelan dan periklanan, ia meninggalkan kehidupan korporat untuk menulis, dan merupakan pendukung setia kesehatan mental serta kesejahteraan pekerja migran. Ia menyebut novel, kue, dan jajanan kaki lima Singapura sebagai kelemahan terbesarnya. Pada hari-hari biasa, ia bisa ditemukan sedang asyik membaca buku atau menikmati makanan di hawker centre (pusat jajanan). Mahita memiliki putri kembar yang kini berusia tiga puluhan dan tinggal di Singapura bersama suaminya.