Prakash Subedi made his mark in the Nepali literary scene with his first anthology of poems, Stars and Fireflies in 2009. Two years later, in 2011, he, along with five other young poets, published a joint poetry anthology, Six Strings. His writings have been prescribed in Master Level syllabi at Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University. He is the General Secretary of Society of Nepali Writers in English (NWEN), and the co-editor of its half yearly English literary magazine, Of Nepalese Clay, 20 issues of which have been published so far. Subedi now teaches at Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu.

Abhi Subedi, an essayist, critic, linguist, playwright and poet, has over two dozen books on different subjects to his credit. Several of his plays have been staged by leading theatre groups in Nepal and abroad. Prof. Subedi has taught for 40 years at the Central Department of English. The vice-president of Folklore Society of Nepal, he is the founder president of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) UNESCO (2000-2008) and member of International Playwrights’ Forum (2000-2011). Also a former president of the Linguistic Society of Nepal and the Literary Association of Nepal, Subedi is involved in a number of interdisciplinary study groups.

Keshab Sigdel, an assistant professor of English at Tribhuvan University, is also a creative writer, critic and translator. His published works include Samaya Bighatan (2007), a collection of poems in Nepali, and Six Strings (2011), a co-authored joint anthology of poems in English. He is one of the editors of English literary magazine Of Nepalese Clay. His poems and plays are taught in university and school level courses in Nepal. Sigdel is a founder member of Asia Pacific Writers and Translators Association, vice-president of Society of Nepali Writers in English (NWEN), and president of Asian Center for Humanities (ACH). He is also actively involved in transitional justice and human rights activism in Nepal.

J B Disanayaka is Emeritus Professor of Sinhala, and former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. He has received the hghest National Award “Deshamanya” in 2006, as well as State Literature Awards in 1968, 1971, 1973 and 1991 for Sinhala Books written. He was also awarded the National Award by Sarvodaya Trust Fund, Moratuwa for services for the Advancement of Humanity, Peace & Development in 1996.

Kamala Wijeratne is an educationist in the field of English and a creative writer. She has wide experience in ELT curriculum design, teacher education, and materials design. Her specialization is teaching literature in TESL-TEFL situations. Her poetry is well-known and she was awarded the State Literary Prize for poetry in 2004 for her anthology entitled Millennium Poems. She has published six volumes of poetry and two anthologies of short stories. She is currently a visiting lecturer in the Department of Humanities Education, of the University of Colombo. In 2012 she was awarded both the prestigious Godage Prize and the State Literary Prize for her latest anthology of short stories.

Nasrullah Partaw Naderi, as a socio-political activist and poet, has more media and public visibility than any of his contemporaries in the country or abroad. He worked for the Dari program of the BBC World Service until 2002. Naderi is also a leading member of the Afghan PEN Association based in Kabul and he was the first president of Afghan PEN Association. He has published a large number of articles on literary, political and social issues. His published poems collections include An Elegy for Vine, Leaden Moments of Execution, A Lock on the Gate of Ashes and The Big Picture, The Small Mirror.

Dr. Fakrul Alam is a Bangladeshi academic, writer, and translator. He writes on literary matters and postcolonial issues and translated works of Jibanananda Das and Rabindranath Tagore into English. Aprt from his academic responsibilities, he was also the Director of the Advanced Studies in the Humanities of the University of Dhaka from 1993 to 1996, and Adviser of the Dhaka University Central Library from 2002 to 2003. He is currently a member of the Education Policy Implementation Committee constituted by the Government of Bangladesh. At present he also acts as an Advisor at the Department of English of East West University.

Shamim Reza is a poet, author, researcher and editor. He has four books of poetry and a collection of short stories to his credit. He has also edited an anthology of African literary works translated into Bangla. Winner of Krittibash Award in 2007, Samim teaches Bangla at Jahangirnagar University.

Kamal Chowdhury stepped into the world of poetry with his youthful and defiant verses in mid seventies. His first collection of poetry Michiler soman Boyosi was published in 1981. He has published fifteen books of poems. He has also written a few essays on poetry. He has a PhD in Athropology.

Farheen Chaudhry has a Masters in International Relations and is a renowned writer, playwright, poet, director and advertiser in Pakistan. She has previously been an anchor for state TV and FM Radio and has served as Station Head of 2 channels from Islamabad. In addition she has been Director Production with Manhattan International, Director Production with Evernew Group, and Producer with Lok Virsa. She has recently started her own NGO and production set up, LACS. She was selected Goodwill Ambassador for Peace by the Good Governance Forum, an UN-registered 30 years old think tank. She has published 4 books with another 3 in the pipeline. She has also participated in and spoken at numerous conferences and seminars on national and international forums.

Recipient of several national and international awards, Tarannum Riyaz is a senior fellow with Ministry of Culture (in Urdu Literature). She has authored more than 12 books and translated a few more from other languages. Tarannum has been a former member of Sahitya Akademy India Governing Council and Urdu advisory board, and a member of New Delhi Birla Foundation Saraswati Samman Award Committee, India, and is presently a member of Ghalib Academy, Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture & Languages, Poetry Society (India) Indian Society of Authors and Poetry Club of India.

Sukrita Paul Kumar, born in Kenya, lives currently in Delhi, writing poetry and teaching literature. An Honorary Fellow of the prestigious International Writing Programme, University of Iowa (USA), Cambridge Seminars and a former Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, she was also an invited poet in residence at Hong Kong Baptist University. A recipient of many international fellowships and residencies, she is Honorary Faculty at the Durrell Centre at Corfu (Greece). Her books of poems in English include Without Margins and Folds of Silence, in addition to two bilingual collections Poems Come Home (with translations by Gulzar) and Rowing Together (with Savita Singh). She was the Guest Editor of Crossing Over (University of Hawaii). Amongst others, Sukrita’s major critical works include Narrating Partition. Her edited/co-edited books include Speaking for Herself: Asian Women’s Writings (Penguin) and Cultural Diversity in India (Macmillan India). She is also a translator and an artist.

Dr. Refaqat Ali Khan was a Professor of History at Jamia Milia Islamia and Principal and Director of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Complex, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Professor Khan has been associated with the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature since 1986, and currently serves as Vice President of FOSWAL. He has several books on history to his credit.

From Tripura, India, he was awarded the Young Writers travel grant by Sahitya Academy, India in 2000. His credits include writing poems as well as articles for various newspapers and magazines. Jaale Vashe Bonojo Mokut, Mrittikar Niral Roop, Ritu Badaler Prarthana Sangeet, and Prantasimar Drishya Kabya are among his published anthologies.

Pratibha Ray, PhD (b.1944) formerly Professor and Member, Public Service Commission, Odisha, is an eminent fiction writer of India who writes in Odia, her mother tongue. Ray’s work is unsparing in its indictments of social evils and injustice. Among numerous state, national and international awards, she is the recipient of Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award of India (2011), Moorti Devi Award (1991) by Bharatiya Jnanapith Trust for her novel, Sahitya Akademi Award (2000), and “Padma Shree” (2007) for her contribution to the field of Indian Literature and Education. Her writings have been translated into various Indian languages, English and Hungarian. She writes novels, short fictions, essays, poetry, lyrics, children’s literature and biographies. She has visited thirty foreign countries on speaking tours. She is the Founder President of Bhashayan, a national literary organisation.