The show opens with Antara and Farah talking about what writing and creativity means to them. They share their earliest memories of writing and how each of them decided to pursue it seriously. We chat about their respective manuscripts – one in the space of fiction and the other in non-fiction, and the importance of amplifying female narratives, accompanied by some fantastic book recommendations! We talk about research and the process of writing for fiction and non-fiction. We also delve into what each of them is exploring with their respective manuscripts. Later, we chat about the Emerging Writers Residency, their writing routines and more book recommendations! The episode ends with excerpts from Antara and Farh’s manuscripts narrated by each of them respectively.

Mentions: Fyodor Dostovesky, Reader’s Digest, Heart Lamp, Banu Mushtaq, Deepa Bhasthi, International Booker Prize, Max Porter, Little Wome, Louisa May Alcott, Brotherless Night, V V Ganeshananthan, Rumors Of Spring, Farah Bashir, Arundathi Roy, Vikram Seth, A Suitable Boy, On Balance, Leela Seth, Andaleeb Wajeed, Learning To Make One Cup Of Tea, Natasha Badhwar, Zehra Naqvi, Reema Ahmad, Unparenting, Charles Dickens, Anna Karenina, Jhumpa Lahiri, Mahasweta Devi, Rabindranath Tagore, Anita Desai, Clear Light Of Day, Morning Pages, Julia Cameron, Shadow City, Taran Khan, Aashiqui, Fifty Year Road, Bhaskar Roy, Superboys Of Malegaon, Anatomy Of A Fall, Seen And Unseen, Amit Verma, Let’s Talk Memoir, Ronit Plank, Film Courage, Louisiana Channel, Andrew Huberman, Ted Talks, The Blue Book, Amitava Kumar

Antara Mukherjee is a writer from Kolkata, based in Mumbai, and she likes to write about the immediate realities of our society. Her stories and poems have appeared in over 25 literary magazines, and a play co-written by her has had 12 performances at the Bangalore International Centre since 2022. She's an alumna of the Kolam Writers’ Workshop, and her manuscript was selected for a mentorship program by Asian Women Writers (AWW), a platform by US & UK agents and editors, recognising upcoming women writers from Asia. She is represented by Jayapriya Vasudevan of Jacaranda Literary Agency, and her debut fiction will be published by Bloomsbury in April 2026. You can find her on Instagram @antara.mukherjee.bhattacharya

Farah is a writer based in Gurgaon. Her observation of people and her work as an advocate both enrich her writings. Her work has been published in Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Reader's Digest, Livewire, Outlook and Kitaab, to name a few. She loves to write haiku, short stories and personal essay. She is the recipient of the Natalie Goldberg fellowship. She was shortlisted for 100 inspiring Muslim Women of West Bengal by Rising beyond the ceiling foundation. You can find on Instagram @farahnaaz3

The Himalayan Writing Retreat (THWR) is a physical retreat tucked away in the Uttarakhand Himalayas. THWR was co-founded in 2016 by Chetan Mahajan & Dr Vandita Dubey. The retreat offers a variety of events, both online and in person. The HWR Emerging Writers Residency offers emerging writers an opportunity to live, learn and write among the stunning Himalayas. The aim is to help writers finish their writing projects and make their debut. To know more, you can check their website: https://www.himalayanwritingretreat.com/

Sangeetha Menon a.k.a. The Moody Marshmallow is a writer, editor and podcaster. She currently handles the rights portfolio at Tulika Publishers, where she finds new avenues for stories to travel. She has worked with organisations like Bound, Karadi Tales, and Carve Magazine to name a few. You can find her on Instagram: @marshmallow.musings and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/menonsangeetha/

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Twitter - @TheMoodyMarsh

Email - theclosetwriterchronicles@gmail.com

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