Thrity Umrigar is a highly acclaimed Indian-born American author, journalist, critic, and teacher. She has gained a reputation for her exceptional work in fiction, memoirs, and poetry. Some of her most popular novels include "Bombay Time," "The Weight of Heaven," "The Space Between Us," "The World We Found," "If Today Be Found," and "The Story Hour." In addition to her fiction work, Umrigar has also penned the memoir "First Darling of the Morning." Her novels have been translated into numerous languages and have gained international recognition.
Umrigar's writing career extends beyond novels and memoirs. She has been a journalist for seventeen years and has written for various national newspapers such as The Washington Post, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, and The Boston Globe. She has also won several awards for her writing, including the Cleveland Arts Prize, a Lambda Literary award, and the Seth Rosenberg prize. Currently, she serves as an Armington English Professor at Case Western-Reserve University in Cleveland.
In addition to her teaching and journalism work, Umrigar is also a distinguished university professor of English at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She has received numerous accolades for her work, including being a finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins award and the Society of Midland Authors award. Her novel "The Space Between Us" and memoir "First Darling of the Morning" have been finalists for these awards, respectively. Furthermore, her novel "If Today Be Sweet" was a Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle selection.
Umrigar was born in Bombay, India, and moved to the United States when she was 21. She had a diverse upbringing in a predominantly Hindu country, attending a Catholic school as a Parsi child. This multicultural background has greatly influenced her writing. She began writing and creating her fictional worlds at a young age, publishing her first short stories, essays, and poems in national magazines and newspapers in India at age fifteen.
Umrigar's writing career has been varied and accomplished. She has worked as an award-winning reporter, columnist, and magazine writer. She has also earned a Ph.D. in English. In 1999, she won a one-year Nieman Fellowship to Harvard University, which allowed her to focus on her writing and complete her first novel, "Bombay Time." She has since published numerous novels, memoirs, and picture books for kids, establishing herself as a prominent and celebrated author in the United States.