The Official Website of Author Nikesh Murali

2012-02-07T07:32:00.001+10:00

Fountain Killer Strikes the Outback published in Newcastle University's creative writing journal FRICTION

2012-02-05T00:30:00.000+10:00

I am interviewed in THE HINDU
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article2853815.ece

2012-01-07T16:11:00.000+10:00

NAIDOC Week published in Snake Oil Cure

2011-11-28T21:29:00.003+10:00

CBA has produced an audio version of my Commonwealth Short Story Prize winning work to be broadcast on BBC radio.

Also check out the video for context, before you read or listen to THE MAOIST.

2011-11-28T18:33:00.000+10:00

4 years after I wrote the story on a rainy summer afternoon, THE NOTE will appear in ONLY MEN PLEASE, an anthology of short stories.

2011-09-18T18:42:00.000+10:00

The Prostitute published in the Hawaii Pacific Review Issue 25

2011-09-18T14:58:00.000+10:00

I have won the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the Asian region.

2011-07-31T10:14:00.000+10:00

The amazingly talented Minerva Bloom, reads my earlier love poems.
Check out Minerva's gorgeous art and poetry @ http://minervabloom.weebly.com/index.html

2011-07-13T23:05:00.001+10:00

Saree Palace blog features my poem on Sari clad gals, which I penned when I was 18.
http://saree-palace.blogspot.com/2011/06/this-poem-was-written-by-nikesh-murali.html

2011-06-07T08:32:00.000+10:00

Enjoyed conducting two amazing writing workshops: 1) Making a Scene for Writers in Townsville Society and 2) Reading and Writing the Short Story for James Cook University

Here's a review of the Making a Scene workshop http://2creativelyescape.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/workshop-by-nikesh-murali/

2011-03-15T12:12:00.000+10:00

My writing diaries featured in the the best Moleskine blog on the planet MOLESKINERIE
http://www.moleskinerie.com/2011/03/snapshot-nikesh-murali.html
Also a brief Q&A on how I use the diaries to develop story lines.

2011-03-08T23:03:00.001+10:00

I am interviewed at one of the best comic book blogs in India - Mayank Khurana's The adventures of M
http://adventuration.blogspot.com/2011/03/nikesh-murli-and-vinay-brahmania-on.html

What do you think is one of the most attractive features about Veera.
NM: I think the emotional journey that the characters undertake will resonate with children and adults alike. Not to mention the awesome action set pieces!
Veera wants to escape his wretched life in the slums and his abusive father but his sense of responsibility and love for his mother and brother, holds him back.
Nayana’s psyche has never healed from the trauma of a childhood event and she doesn’t view the role of a Guardian as a divine duty, but a burden that was imposed on her by the man who rescued her and adopted her as a child.
Vasu does not understand his anger and the sense of disgust he feels towards the poverty and filth that surrounds Veera. He feels responsible for his father’s death and knows deep in his heart that he may never measure up to his father. Add to this, the fact that he is overly protective of Nayana and loathes Veera’s friendship with her, we have the potential for conflict that can be mined for gold over several seasons.
V: I think Murli has explained beatifully, what I can add is the fact that the contrast in Veera's Character from a humble downtrodden rag picker to being a chosen one is totally fun to

2011-02-09T11:36:00.000+10:00

THE LAST BOOK featuring one of my poems, will be on view at the Aguilar Branch of the New York Public Library from February 2 until May 29, 2011. The address is 174 East 110 Street, NYC. This is the third exhibition of the project, after Buenos Aires and Zurich.

2010-12-02T20:30:00.000+10:00

Signed a comic book series deal with one of the largest newspapers in Tamil Nadu - DINAMALAR, with an audience of more than half a million. Illustrated by the uber-talented Vinay Brahmania.

2010-12-02T20:15:00.000+10:00

The Prostitute reprinted in The Editor's Choice Contemporary Short Stories in Indian English

Also available from
http://www.flipkart.com/editors-choice-contemporary-short-stories-book-8189012797
and
http://www.bookshopofindia.com/search.asp?action1=default&bookid=9072110

2010-11-20T10:55:00.001+10:00

4 poems in Blackmail Press Issue 28

2010-10-31T18:27:00.003+10:00

The Prostitute reprinted in New Fiction Journal

2010-10-22T11:22:00.001+10:00

Plotting Made Easy Workshop

Have you got a great story, but you are not sure how to structure it into a cohesive and gripping narrative? Struggling with your novel? Not sure of how to plot a story featuring memorable characters and pen a riveting story brimming with external and internal conflict?

Advance your understanding of the craft with this hands on, intensive 5 hour workshop where you will learn about some of the most popular and effective plotting systems employed by successful authors and gain new insights into the micro mechanics of fiction writing

You will learn how to…
• Examine the values and ambitions of your protagonists and antagonists, which in turn will help you formulate a strong story goal

• Create an effective outline based on the 3 act structure using step-sheets

• Break your novel down to story beats and character arcs to manage your manuscript and discard the boring bits

• Craft a strong beginning and climax by breaking it down to its effective components

SUITED TO WRITERS AT ALL STAGES OF THEIR WRITING CAREER - ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL FOR AUTHORS WHO ARE STARTING ON THEIR FIRST MANUSCRIPT

Cost: $50.00
Date: 14 November 2010
Time: 10:00 am to 04:00 pm
Venue: Aitkenvale City Council library Workshop Room

Due the hands-on nature of the workshop we have limited seats. Book before the 1st of November 2010 to avoid disappointment.

For testimonials see http://www.nikeshmurali.net/p/workshops.html

For bookings please contact nikeshmurali(at)nikeshmurali(dot)net

2010-09-18T09:55:00.000+10:00

Catch the launch of Indian Voices (which features my story The Note) live @ www.livestream.com/voodootv1 or www.tradearchitects.com at 6.30 p.m Eastern Time (Toronto) on the 20th of September.

2010-09-06T08:10:00.005+10:00

Pirated files of my love poems translated into Spanish and Portuguese are apparently popular on file sharing sites. http://www.scribd.com/doc/11341449/te-amo

(I uploaded the original files onto Scribd myself after finding low quality copies on rapidshare/4shared/filestube etc.)

2010-09-03T13:07:00.002+10:00

The Skin is the Enemy reprinted in ARTGAZE magazine

2010-07-24T09:29:00.002+10:00

Mad woman beautifully read by Athena, broadcast on Vocal089FM

2010-07-11T15:40:00.002+10:00

Mastering Story Structure- From Idea to Outline at the Aitkenvale Library, Townsville

Have you got a great idea for a story? Not sure how to go about completing your 80000 word manuscript? Don’t want to spend decades working on your novel?

If you have always wanted to create memorable characters and pen a riveting story brimming with external and internal conflict, you need to master the story structure.

Cut down hours (in some cases years) of unproductive work on your manuscript by learning to plot gripping yarns that will gain the attention of agents/publishers and satisfy readers. Learn to write an effective outline which will guide you in your story telling efforts without curbing your creativity.

Story Structure is all about working smart and is equally beneficial for beginning and advanced practitioners of the craft. Sign up for Mastering Story Structure Workshop with award winning author Nikesh Murali.

In 5 intense hours of lectures and hands on exercises, learn to create an external and internal story arc and generate a plot outline which will form a strong foundation for your novel.

DATE AND VENUE FOR NEXT WORKSHOP TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shack/101463736572726?v=wall#!/pages/The-Shack/101463736572726?v=app_4949752878

2010-06-11T10:46:00.001+10:00

Tweets from a camp published in LINQ

2010-05-04T21:35:00.001+10:00

Photographs of the installation of The Last Book (containing my short fiction) in the foyer of the Zentral Bibliothek of Zurich. The installation will be on view until July 31^st of this year. The Daros Collection of Zurich should be thanked for the negotiation, help and publicity for this event.

The next planned stop will be in March 2012, in the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg Carl von Ossietzky

Open publication - Free publishing

2010-02-06T19:36:00.003+10:00

The Photograph published in Every Day Fiction

2009-11-28T18:09:00.006+10:00

Over here and there published on the Cricket Poetry Prize website

2009-10-27T13:04:00.002+10:00

I will be reading at the three city council libraries over the next month and a half. Please see attached flyer for details. Thanks to those who turned up for the Sunday reading at the Flinders Street Library.

Featuring

2009-08-18T20:34:00.003+10:00

The skin is the enemy published in Cha

2009-07-11T11:15:00.004+10:00

The Prostitute published in Pressed 8. Launch on the 24th in Brisbane.

2009-06-13T10:05:00.005+10:00

Time to leave and The burning boat published in Epic India Magazine

2009-06-04T22:05:00.002+10:00

Flash fiction in Confiction

2009-05-16T16:28:00.003+10:00

The Earth Weeps published in Shoots and Vines.

2009-04-14T08:49:00.001+10:00

The whore from Penang published in The Plebian Rag

2009-03-19T08:26:00.002+10:00

I have been nominated for TOWNVILLE ARTS AWARD in writing.

2009-02-19T19:30:00.003+10:00

T'VILLE is released on the WWW and is garnering a lot of attention in the local media. Go to http://www.chroniclesoftville.blogspot.com/ to download the book and read the reviews.

2008-12-11T12:37:00.000+10:00

Letter to a terrorist op-ed piece on the Bombay Massacre published on the Frog Book's blog. All the pieces on the blog will be compiled later to produce a book, dedicated to the memory of the fallen.

2008-12-11T12:28:00.000+10:00

She spoke with her tongue of appears in the 14th issue of Taj Mahal Review.

2008-12-11T12:16:00.001+10:00

Untitled short fiction published in SIX SENTENCES, the best flash fiction zine in the world.

Thanks to editor Robert McEvily for his kind words in the acceptance email.Without editors like him, new writers don't stand a chance.

Thanks to all the readers for their wonderful comments. I am truly inspired!

Buy Volume 1 of the SIX SENTENCES Anthology by clicking on the photo below

2008-12-11T12:07:00.000+10:00

The Last Book Project is getting a lot of attention from the press in Argentina. Also checkout a video of the installation.

2008-11-03T21:35:00.000+10:00

The earth weeps published in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Munyori Review

2008-11-03T21:30:00.002+10:00

(click to enlarge the photos)

From the last book to the reader selected for "THE LAST BOOK" installation, a project by Luis Camnitzer, sponsored by the National Library of Spain.
"The Last Book" opened on October 31^th in the National Library of Argentina, where it will remain open to the public until March of 2009.

Here is some information on the project:

The Last Book is a project to compile written as well as visual statements in which the authors may leave a legacy for future generations. The premise of the project is that book-based culture is coming to an end. On one hand, new technologies have introduced cultural mutations by transferring information to television and the Internet. On the other, there has been an increasing deterioration in the educational systems (as much in the First World as on the periphery) and a proliferation of religious and anti-intellectual fundamentalisms. The Last Book will serve as a time-capsule and leave a document and testament of our time, as well as a stimulus for a possible reactivation of culture in case of disappearance by negligence, catastrophe or conflagration.

2008-11-03T21:24:00.000+10:00

Interviewed by Asha for 4TTT radio

2008-09-25T13:09:00.003+10:00

Bad time to die published in Lit Chaos Issue#40

2008-09-19T19:30:00.001+10:00

Featured on Poetic Portal. 3 poems published.
Thanks to all the readers for their kind words.

2008-09-05T07:46:00.001+10:00

Featured poet at Poetry Life and Times(Aug/Sept 2008) along with

Joseph Armstead,

Ofile (Max Janis),

Grace Andreacchi,

James Schwartz,

Richard Lloyd Cederberg,

and Len Bourret.

Two untitled poems published in the featured poets section.

2008-08-16T10:19:00.002+10:00

Webcam Suicide published in Creative Saplings, a new Indian literary magazine edited by Dr. Shaileen Singh. Here is what he had to say about my poem in the editorial:

Nikesh Murali has fairly experimented with innovative style of technical phraseology in his poem 'The Webcam Suicide.' Certain lines where he uses computer vocabulary are impressive in context of emotive diction; the last ghazal of inebriated love/ binary expression (expression of the feelings of beloved and her lover) of muted cries/ digital murmur (fluctuating sobs and gasps) of a broken heart."

2008-08-09T23:21:00.002+10:00

Canadian photographer Maddie quotes my poem 'To college in a traditional saree'on her photoblog
http://flickr.com/photos/82131747@N00/461554844

2008-07-31T16:07:00.000+10:00

My name and bibliographic details have been entered into the AUSLIT database. Thanks to Cheryl Taylor and Linda Wight for this honour.

AustLit is a non-profit collaboration between twelve Australian Universities and the National Library of Australia providing authoritative information on hundreds of thousands of creative and critical Australian literature works relating to more than 100,000 Australian authors and literary organisations. Its coverage spans 1780 to the present day.

AustLit indexes and describes Australian literature published in a range of print and electronic information sources. It also makes available selected critical articles and creative writing in full text. Researchers, bibliographers and librarians, working around the country, gather information about Australian writers and writing, providing authoritative information on and facilitating access to Australian literature.

http://www.austlit.edu.au/about

2008-07-10T10:19:00.001+10:00

Dirty Moon published in LitUp Magazine

2008-07-06T10:38:00.000+10:00

Here are some excerpts from Umar's(Check out his blog at http://pappyrus.blogspot.com/) paper titled "Angry Peacocks-The concept of India in Australian Writing with special reference to the poetry of Nikesh Murali" prepared towards his degree in Australian Literature Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

"There is a little secret in my heart
That I told the silent walls

And they stared at me blankly with contempt.

I told the sunlight streaming through my bedroom window

And heard the birds laugh in the garden.

I told the steady rain on the roof

But it drowned my voice with a deluge.

The image of the `streaming sunlight’ is more Australian than Indian. Australian poets are `sun-worshippers.’ They have a virile faith in the power and vitality that the sun represents. Every true Australian is a sun worshipper. In this instance, the anthropomorphic image of the sunlight as someone to be talked to, points to a brilliant commingling of Indian and Australian literary influences.
India, as a global powerhouse in the Anglophone literary arena has made its presence felt in the Australian shores. The poetry of Nikesh Murali bears the imprint of Indian philosophy that is transposed to an Australian milieu.

The rain that is presented here is a coastal Indian image. Such a startling juxtaposition across national borders provides the necessary poetic fodder for a post-modern imagination."

"Spring is the necromancy of winter and loneliness is like being with voodoo dolls of our companions of the past. Myths are the divination of collective dreams and tears are runes in love letters that we never read.

Here the lines take on an aphoristic sensibility that is essential to Indian Literature. It could have been a sloka in Sanskrit, or a ghazal in Hindi. Apart from its spiritual dimension, the poem also explores the possibilities of defining quantities in an emerging poetic practice.

These very quantities conceal depths that are self- reflexive and labyrinthine. Spring emerges from winter; loneliness is linked to companionship.
Everything is itself and also its opposite."

" the winds could carry my sorrow to your resting place, they would weep and weave through the leaves, sharing their grief with the universe
Nikesh Murali’s poems have an intensity that seeps into the soul. Christopher Brennan’s words could be applied to describe his poetry:

The imaginative act is not, as vulgarly held, the irresponsible creation of unrealities; imagination is a faculty that perceives outside of the dusty life of outer weariness, the adequacy of our spirit to regard only those perfect things, the things of beauty. "

2008-07-05T17:29:00.000+10:00

Lush green love and I had a dream last night published in the latest issue of Muse India.

Also checkout the interview with eminent poet O.N.V. Kurup in the same issue
http://www.museindia.com/showcurrent9.asp?id=995

2008-06-23T19:55:00.001+10:00

Tribute to Neruda appears in The Guardian Book Blog . Robin Ouzman Hislop and Amparo Arrospide, the editors of Poetry Life and Times were kind enough to invite me to submit to their magazine after reading the poem (see comment on post below).

2008-06-23T01:13:00.002+10:00

Love like a river appears in Great Writing

2008-05-27T01:19:00.006+10:00

Umar(Check out his blog at http://pappyrus.blogspot.com/) is working on a paper titled "Angry Peacocks-The concept of India in Australian Writing with special reference to the poetry of Nikesh Murali" at the Australian Literature Studies department,Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

2008-03-18T16:29:00.001+10:00

To college in a traditional sari features in an article on "Sari and Culturally based preferences" at the GURU MAHA GRAHA blog

2008-03-18T15:42:00.001+10:00

Interview with M.V.Somasundaram appears in The Modern Rationalist http://www.themronline.com/200802mr/index.html

2008-02-20T15:07:00.006+10:00

I liked it when you were here, The light house, For Casey & The night lover to appear in the Indian Journal of Post Colonial Literatures published by the Centre for English Studies and Research, Kerala, India in March. To order copies please email the editor: kdominicnewman@gmail.com

2008-02-20T15:04:00.009+10:00

A tribute to Val Kilmer's poem in The Saint & A tribute to Wong Kar Wai's In the mood for love to appear in the special Shringara Issue of Muse India in March http://www.museindia.com/showfeature7.asp?id=886

The editor for this special issue Ambika Ananth (an outstanding poet and eminent translator) says,"Nikesh Murali’s poems have that earthiness and human element to make them absorbingly appealing. The intimate mood and the energy of sexual love is well conveyed."

Checkout her wonderful editorial(http://www.museindia.com/showfeature7.asp?id=866) for this special feature: SHRINGARA Poetry http://www.museindia.com/feature7.asp

2008-02-20T14:58:00.002+10:00

Girl from Ipanema to appear in Borderlines '08 anthology published by University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Order through AMAZON
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Borderlines-Anthology-Fiction-Travel-Poetry/dp/1409204944
or
http://www.lulu.com/content/2607602

Purchase it now!!!

2008-02-14T00:48:00.002+10:00

'It snows in Philadelphia' appears in Skive Magazine . Purchase a copy of this great short story quarterly from here http://www.lulu.com/content/2026165

2008-01-23T14:05:00.003+10:00

Magic, The dark street, Too cold for love, Tonight I feel lonely, The terrorist, The accident, 'Middle Class' Bald headed man published in E-MAGAZINE INDIA
http://www.emagazineindia.com/nikesh.htm

2008-01-17T16:20:00.001+10:00

Interview with author and prominent Indian atheist M.V.Somasundaram in this months' THE AUSTRALIAN ATHEIST
http://www.mediafire.com/?bwni2demfec

2007-12-01T20:36:00.000+10:00

Listen to the beautiful and amazingly talented Shalla De Guzman reading From the smallest embers rise the beasts of fire like the Phoenix at http://www.archive.org/details/FromTheSmallestEmbersRiseTheBeastsOfFireLikeThePhoenix

You can also download it from the link.

A real honour.

2007-11-17T06:31:00.000+10:00

Nominated for Pushcart Prize http://www.shallamagazine.com/toppicks/pushcart_2007.php

for the poem http://www.shallamagazine.com/features/poetry/Nikesh_Murali.php

I was informed by the editor of Shalla Magazine at 6 am today about my nomination for one of the most prestigious of prizes given to poets in the United States of America . Its an honour to be nominated and be in the company of some truly outstanding poets and writers being published in the small press.

I am speechless and I thank you all for all your support over the years. THANK YOU - THANK YOU!

To find out more about the prize go to http://www.pushcartprize.com/about.htm

2007-11-03T22:16:00.001+10:00

'Mad Woman' and 'Raven' published in Muse India http://www.museindia.com/showcurrent5.asp?id=785

2007-10-24T08:35:00.000+10:00

I am collaborating with some members of the WITS writers group in Townsville to create an anthology of stories in the fantasy genre. Checkout the project's official blog:
http://www.chroniclesoftville.blogspot.com/

2007-10-16T22:12:00.001+10:00

Aruni Kashyap is inspired by my tribute to Neruda http://myxofura.blogspot.com/2007/07/for-neruda.html

Six new poems published in Sentinel Online Magazine #28 http://www.sentinelpoetry.org.uk/magonline0305/page10.html

2007-10-11T11:58:00.000+10:00

Spanish translation (by eminent poet Maria Cristina Azcona) of Girl from ipanema read on http://www.fmidentidad.com/

2007-10-11T11:56:00.001+10:00

From the smallest embers appears in Shalla Magazine as a TOP PICK
http://www.shallamagazine.com/features/poetry/Nikesh_Murali.php

2007-07-22T19:43:00.001+10:00

Tonight I can write the saddest lines published in Muse India, India's premier literary e-journal ...click here.

2007-03-03T23:52:00.002+10:00

Anatomy of loneliness appears in Rumble Magazine http://rumble.sy2.com/dec04/anatomy.html

Photographs appear in Jpg Magazine http://www.jpgmag.com/photos/25438