Our Speakers
Omar Warraich
Omar Waraich is a writer, journalist, and human rights advocate with extensive experience covering South Asia. From 2016 to 2021, he served as Head of South Asia at Amnesty International, addressing a broad range of human rights issues across countries including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. His work focused on the persecution of minorities, enforced disappearances, the death penalty, and press freedom, among other pressing concerns.
Previously, Waraich reported for TIME Magazine and The Independent from 2007 to 2016, covering key events such as the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s democratic transition, and the death of Osama bin Laden. He has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The Guardian, and appeared as a commentator on outlets like CNN, BBC, and Al-Jazeera. A recipient of several awards, including the 2022 László Z. Bitó Award for Humanitarian Service, Waraich holds master's degrees in International Human Rights Law from Oxford and International Relations from the University of London.
Website: https://www.omarwaraich.com/
Anjali Mitter Duva
Anjali Mitter Duva is an Indian-American author, educator, and arts advocate whose work bridges the worlds of literature, classical Indian dance, and cultural identity. Born to an Indian father and French mother, she was raised in a multilingual and multicultural environment that deeply influenced her storytelling voice. Her debut novel, Faint Promise of Rain (2014), is a historical fiction work set in 16th-century Rajasthan that explores themes of tradition, gender, and resistance through the lens of a devadasi (temple dancer) family. The novel received critical acclaim for its lyrical prose and evocative portrayal of classical Kathak dance and Mughal-era India, and was a finalist for the 2016 Chautauqua Prize.
Beyond writing, Duva is a co-founder of Chhandika (Chhandam Institute of Kathak Dance), a nonprofit organization based in Boston dedicated to teaching and preserving the North Indian classical dance form of Kathak. She is also an active mentor to emerging writers through programs like GrubStreet and is a frequent speaker on topics including cultural heritage, the immigrant experience, and women in the arts. Duva holds degrees from Brown University and MIT and continues to write, teach, and perform from her home in the Boston area. Her work reflects a lifelong commitment to fostering cross-cultural understanding and empowering voices from the margins.
Website: https://www.anjalimitterduva.com/
Rishi Reddi
Rishi Reddi is an acclaimed American author known for her insightful explorations of immigrant experiences and bicultural identity. Born in Hyderabad, India, she spent her formative years in the United Kingdom and the United States. Reddi holds a degree in English from Swarthmore College, a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law, and a master's in creative writing from Boston University.
Her debut collection, Karma and Other Stories, won the 2008 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award. Her work has been featured in Best American Short Stories 2005, NPR's "Selected Shorts," and received an honorable mention for the 2004 Pushcart Prize. Reddi has been a Fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the MacDowell Colony and received an Individual Artist's Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
In addition to her writing, Reddi has worked as an enforcement attorney for environmental protection agencies and as a lawyer for the Massachusetts Secretary of Environment. She resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
For more information about her work, you can visit her official website: rishireddi.com.
Chaya Bhuvaneswar
Chaya Bhuvaneswar is an Indian-American physician and award-winning writer whose work explores themes of race, gender, sexuality, and the complexities of cultural identity. Her debut short story collection, White Dancing Elephants (2018), received critical acclaim and was a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. The collection showcases a powerful range of voices—often women of color grappling with trauma, desire, and resistance—blending literary fiction with elements of speculative and psychological narrative. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, The Kenyon Review, Narrative Magazine, and Electric Literature.
In addition to her literary achievements, Bhuvaneswar is a practicing physician with a background in psychiatry, which informs her insightful and often haunting portrayals of the human psyche. A graduate of Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, she brings a distinctive voice to contemporary American literature, balancing the disciplines of medicine and writing. Her work frequently addresses the tensions between personal autonomy and cultural tradition, particularly within immigrant and diasporic experiences. Bhuvaneswar is recognized for her contributions to amplifying marginalized voices in literature and continues to engage readers through her thought-provoking fiction and essays
Website: https://www.chayabhuvaneswar.com/
Anam Zakaria
Anam Zakaria is a Pakistani-Canadian author, oral historian, and educator whose work explores the impact of historical conflict and memory in South Asia. She is the author of three critically acclaimed books: The Footprints of Partition, Between the Great Divide, and 1971: A People’s History. Through extensive oral histories and research, Zakaria documents how events like the Partition of India, the Kashmir conflict, and the 1971 Bangladesh war continue to shape personal and collective narratives across generations.
With academic training in International Development and Anthropology from McGill University and the University of Toronto, Zakaria has worked in education, development, and civic technology. She served as Director of the Oral History Project at the Citizens Archive of Pakistan and is currently Vice President – Fellowships at Code for Pakistan. Her writing has been published in leading outlets such as The New York Times, Al Jazeera, and Dawn, and she remains committed to centering human stories in the understanding of history and geopolitics.
For more information about her work, you can visit her official website: https://anamzakaria.com/
Sorayya Khan
Sorayya Khan’s most recent book is WE TAKE OUR CITIES WITH US: A MEMOIR. She is the author of three novels, NOOR, FIVE QUEEN’S ROAD, and CITY OF SPIES which received the Best International Fiction Book Award, Sharjah International Book Fair. Her work appears in multiple publications including Lit Hub, Guernica, Longreads (Pushcart Prize nomination), Electric Lit, The Rumpus, The Kenyon Review, North American Review, Oldster, and Journal of Narrative Politics. She is the recipient of several grants, most recently from the American Institute of Indonesian Studies to support her current writing project. She was awarded a US Fulbright Award to conduct research in Pakistan and Bangladesh for a previous novel, won a Malahat Review Novella Prize, and received a Constance Saltonstall Artist Grant, which took her to Banda Aceh, Indonesia on a project interviewing tsunami survivors. She is the daughter of a Pakistani father and a Dutch mother, was born in Europe, grew up in Pakistan, and now lives in New York with her family. She is currently a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University.
For more information about her work, you can visit her official website: https://sorayyakhan.com/
Haroon Moghul
Haroon is Founder and President of Queen City Diwan, a travel company that designs global experiences and youth leadership programs. In 2023 and 2024, EqualityX named him one of the fifty most influential Muslims in the Americas. An award-winning journalist and opinion columnist, Haroon is the author of a memoir, How to be a Muslim: An American Story, and Two Billion Caliphs: A Vision of a Muslim Future.
Haroon has been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR’s Fresh Air, CNN, NBC News, Foreign Policy, Guardian, Al Jazeera and more. He’s taught at universities and houses of worship on five continents and has appeared on every major US news network as an expert commentator on religion and global affairs. Born and raised in New England, Haroon now lives with his wife and family in Cincinnati.
In his free time, he teaches history, theology and culture for nearly forty middle and high school students--you can follow along on his Substack, Sunday Schooled. He’s committed to empowering faith institutions, strengthening our democracy, helping young people find their passion and purpose, and nurturing future-facing communities.
Website: https://www.haroonmoghul.com/
Chaitali Sen
Chaitali Sen is an American author and educator known for her nuanced explorations of identity, displacement, and the complexities of human relationships. Born in India and raised in the United States, her multicultural background deeply informs her writing.
Sen's debut novel, The Pathless Sky, was published in 2015 and received critical acclaim for its lyrical prose and profound insights into political and personal upheaval. Her short stories and essays have appeared in various literary journals, showcasing her versatility and depth as a writer.
In addition to her writing, Sen is dedicated to education and has taught literature and creative writing at various institutions. She holds an MFA from Hunter College and resides in Austin, Texas, where she continues to write and teach.
For more information about her work, you can visit her official website: chaitalisen.com.