ABOUT THE RAINBOW AWARDS
The Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism aims to recognise literary and journalistic work done by queer and cis-het writers who are creating and building narratives around LGBTQIA+ lives. What will consistently matter in the selection process is exemplary affirmative work that brings to life authenticity, realities, stories of love, trials, tribulations, vulnerabilities and strength.
The larger purpose of the Awards is to collectively, and over a period of time, build a genre and encourage more people to come forth to write queer and trans stories. We believe that through these Awards and the work recognised, the publishing and media world will expand its doors and minds to this ‘genre’. We hope they will realise that ‘queer’ and ‘trans’ lives deserve attention, that every story makes a difference to social constructs and perceptions, that each of these narratives add to the community’s sense of belonging.
To meet these objectives, every year a jury will access the variety of entries from publishers, authors, journalists, freelance writers and editors. The jury’s endeavour is and always will be to ensure fairness and studied assessments. The selection of eligible entries will be taken solely and only by the jury. Their decision is and will be final and binding.
Entries for the 2025 edition of the Awards open on May 19, 2025 and close on July 18, 2025. A shortlist will be announced during the first week of November followed by the winners, around a month later.
The Awards Ceremony:
Rainbow Lit Fest – Queer & Inclusive,
Gulmohar Park Club, Delhi (December, 2024).
CATEGORIES
Literature:
1. Fiction: This includes novels, graphic novels and collections of short stories (by a single author).
2. Non-Fiction: This includes memoirs, biographies, history and anything that doesn’t fall under Fiction, which means poetry too.
(All submissions are to be in the English language. Translations will also be accepted as long as the original content was written in an Indian language)
Journalism:
1. Feature: The write up must be a minimum of 1200 words
2. Op-Ed: The word length should be be a minimum of 600 words
event schedule
Time
Events
Speakers
- 09:30am - 10:30am
- Room 1
Registration & opening
Steering Committee
- 10:30am - 11:00am
- Room 1
Spokesman in the world
By : Pandja Giwaksana
- 11:00am - 12:30am
- Room 2
World tour with make money
By : Ailysh Bella, Gerald Naldo
- 12:30am - 01:30pm
- Room 2
Lunch time
Steering Committee
- 01:30pm - 02:30pm
- Room 3
Freedom in Joking
By : Karina Kath, Sharoon Jay
- 02:30am - 04:30am
- Room 3
Appreciate Freebies
By : Made Jackson, Jeff Rendi
Time
Events
Speakers
- 09:30am - 10:30am
- Room 1
Registration & opening
Steering Committee
- 10:30am - 11:00am
- Room 1
Appreciate Freebies
By : Made Jackson, Jeff Rendi
- 11:00am - 12:30am
- Room 2
Freedom in Joking
By : Karina Kath, Sharoon Jay
- 12:30am - 01:30pm
- Room 2
Lunch time
Steering Committee
- 01:30pm - 02:30pm
- Room 3
World tour with make money
By : Ailysh Bella, Gerald Naldo
- 02:30am - 04:30am
- Room 3
Spokesman in the world
By : Pandja Giwaksana
Time
Events
Speakers
- 09:30am - 10:30am
- Room 1
Registration & opening
Steering Committee
- 10:30am - 11:00am
- Room 1
World tour with make money
By : Ailysh Bella, Gerald Naldo
- 11:00am - 12:30am
- Room 2
Spokesman in the world
By : Pandja Giwaksana
- 12:30am - 01:30pm
- Room 2
Lunch time
Steering Committee
- 01:30pm - 02:30pm
- Room 3
Appreciate Freebies
By : Made Jackson, Jeff Rendi
- 02:30am - 04:30am
- Room 3
Freedom in Joking
By : Karina Kath, Sharoon Jay
Parmesh Shahani
CHAIR
Parmesh Shahani is an author and an activist for LGBTQ inclusion in corporate India who has guided many of the country’s leading companies on their inclusion journeys. Most recently, he served as Vice President at Godrej Industries and founded and ran the award-winning Godrej India Culture Lab for a decade, between 2011 and 2021. His first book Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)Longing in Contemporary India (Sage Publications) was released in 2008 and his second book Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace (Westland Business) was released in August 2020 and won the CK Prahalad Award for Best Business Book of 2021 and well as the Laadli Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2021. Parmesh holds an MS in Comparative Media Studies from MIT. He is a TED Senior Fellow, a Yale World Fellow, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and also a board member of KHOJ International Artists’ Association, and Breakthrough.
CHAIR
Poonam Saxena
Poonam Saxena is a journalist, writer and translator. She has had a distinguished career with The Hindustan Times, where she launched and edited the HT Sunday magazine, Brunch, for over ten years, before moving on to edit the weekend section. She has written extensively on popular culture, film, television, books and literature. She continues to do a regular column for Hindustan Times which looks at our past through the prism of Hindi literature and Hindi cinema. She translates from Hindi to English and her translations include Dharmvir Bharati’s Gunahon ka Devta (Chander & Sudha, Penguin Viking), Rahi Masoom Raza’s Scene : 75 (HarperCollins) and The Greatest Hindi Stories Ever Told (Aleph). She was also the co-author for filmmaker Karan Johar’s memoir, An Unsuitable Boy (Penguin).
Poonam Saxena
Poonam Saxena is a journalist, writer and translator. She has had a distinguished career with The Hindustan Times, where she launched and edited the HT Sunday magazine, Brunch, for over ten years, before moving on to edit the weekend section. She has written extensively on popular culture, film, television, books and literature. She continues to do a regular column for Hindustan Times which looks at our past through the prism of Hindi literature and Hindi cinema. She translates from Hindi to English and her translations include Dharmvir Bharati’s Gunahon ka Devta (Chander & Sudha, Penguin Viking), Rahi Masoom Raza’s Scene : 75 (HarperCollins) and The Greatest Hindi Stories Ever Told (Aleph). She was also the co-author for filmmaker Karan Johar’s memoir, An Unsuitable Boy (Penguin).
MEMBERS
Anuja Chandramouli
Anuja Chandramouli is a bestselling author and new age Indian classicist widely regarded as one of the finest writers in mythology, historical fiction and fantasy. She followed up her highly acclaimed debut novel, Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince, which was named as one of the top 5 sellers in the Indian writing category for the year 2012 by Amazon India with Kamadeva: The God of Desire, Shakti: The Divine Feminine, Yama’s Lieutenant and its sequel, Yama’s Lieutenant and the Stone Witch. Her articles, short stories and book reviews appear in various publications like The New Indian Express, The Hindu, Scroll.in and Femina. Some of her other books are Kartikeya: The Destroyer’s Son, Prithviraj Chauhan: The Emperor of Hearts, Padmavati: The Burning Queen, Ganga: The Constant Goddess and Muhammad Bin Tughlaq: Tale of a Tyrant. Her book, Mohini: The Enchantress was the winner of the JK Papers and Times of India Popular Choice AutHer award for the year 2021. Her books are also available as audiobooks and have been translated into Hindi. Abhimanyu: Son of Arjuna has been shortlisted for the Atta Galatta – Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize. Her latest books are Girl Talk and The Wife and the Dancing Queen.
An accomplished TEDx speaker and storyteller, Anuja Chandramouli, regularly conducts workshops on creative writing, mythology and empowerment in schools and colleges across the country. Her Mahabharata and Ramayana with Anuja storytelling series is now available on YouTube, Spotify, TuneIn Alexa, Apple Podcasts. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. This mother of two little girls lives in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.
Anuja Chandramouli
Anuja Chandramouli is a bestselling author and new age Indian classicist widely regarded as one of the finest writers in mythology, historical fiction and fantasy. She followed up her highly acclaimed debut novel, Arjuna: Saga of a Pandava Warrior-Prince, which was named as one of the top 5 sellers in the Indian writing category for the year 2012 by Amazon India with Kamadeva: The God of Desire, Shakti: The Divine Feminine, Yama’s Lieutenant and its sequel, Yama’s Lieutenant and the Stone Witch. Her articles, short stories and book reviews appear in various publications like The New Indian Express, The Hindu, Scroll.in and Femina. Some of her other books are Kartikeya: The Destroyer’s Son, Prithviraj Chauhan: The Emperor of Hearts, Padmavati: The Burning Queen, Ganga: The Constant Goddess and Muhammad Bin Tughlaq: Tale of a Tyrant. Her book, Mohini: The Enchantress was the winner of the JK Papers and Times of India Popular Choice AutHer award for the year 2021. Her books are also available as audiobooks and have been translated into Hindi. Abhimanyu: Son of Arjuna has been shortlisted for the Atta Galatta – Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize. Her latest books are Girl Talk and The Wife and the Dancing Queen.
An accomplished TEDx speaker and storyteller, Anuja Chandramouli, regularly conducts workshops on creative writing, mythology and empowerment in schools and colleges across the country. Her Mahabharata and Ramayana with Anuja storytelling series is now available on YouTube, Spotify, TuneIn Alexa, Apple Podcasts. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. This mother of two little girls lives in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.
Chittajit Mitra
Chittajit Mitra (he/they) is a queer writer, translator and journalist from Allahabad. They co-founded RAQS (Resistive Alliance for Queer Solidarity) in 2017, a queer collective based in the city which focuses on talking about gender, sexuality and mental health in Hindi. They believe in centering queer conversations in Indian languages and politicizing the queer community to fight majoritarianism, casteism and other ills that ails our society.
Currently they are also the general secretary of People’s Union of Civil Liberties, Uttar Pradesh which is a pan India Human Rights organization. They were also the recipient of the inaugural Rainbow Awards for Literature and Journalism in the Op-Ed category.
Chittajit Mitra
Chittajit Mitra (he/they) is a queer writer, translator and journalist from Allahabad. They co-founded RAQS (Resistive Alliance for Queer Solidarity) in 2017, a queer collective based in the city which focuses on talking about gender, sexuality and mental health in Hindi. They believe in centering queer conversations in Indian languages and politicizing the queer community to fight majoritarianism, casteism and other ills that ails our society.
Currently they are also the general secretary of People’s Union of Civil Liberties, Uttar Pradesh which is a pan India Human Rights organization. They were also the recipient of the inaugural Rainbow Awards for Literature and Journalism in the Op-Ed category.
Dhrubo Jyoti
Dhrubo Jyoti is senior editor of news operations at Hindustan Times. They are also closely linked to the movement around caste and sexuality that aims to center Dalit voices in India’s LGBTQIA+ movements.
Dhrubo Jyoti
Dhrubo Jyoti is senior editor of news operations at Hindustan Times. They are also closely linked to the movement around caste and sexuality that aims to center Dalit voices in India’s LGBTQIA+ movements.
Dibeyendu Ganguly
Dibeyendu Ganguly is a veteran journalist with 26 years’ experience with The Economic Times in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from BITS, Pilani (graduating batch of 1984) and is the recipient of the IE Business School (Madrid) Award for Excellence in Business Journalism.
Dibeyendu has been active in the LGBT movement since the early 90s and has written for pioneering magazines like Bombay Dost and Trikone. He has written on LGBT issues in The Times of India and The Economic Times as well. He is particularly known for his front page article in The Times of India in defense of Pushkin Chandra, who was tragically murdered in Delhi in 2004.
Dibeyendu has been a core member of GayBombay, one of Mumbai’s longest running gay support groups. He has served on the jury of the Humsafar Trust Likho Awards for excellence in LGBT representation in media.
Dibeyendu retired from The Economic Times in 2019 and is currently a consulting editor with Vibes of India, an online news portal published from Ahmedabad.
Dibeyendu Ganguly
Dibeyendu Ganguly is a veteran journalist with 26 years’ experience with The Economic Times in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from BITS, Pilani (graduating batch of 1984) and is the recipient of the IE Business School (Madrid) Award for Excellence in Business Journalism.
Dibeyendu has been active in the LGBT movement since the early 90s and has written for pioneering magazines like Bombay Dost and Trikone. He has written on LGBT issues in The Times of India and The Economic Times as well. He is particularly known for his front page article in The Times of India in defense of Pushkin Chandra, who was tragically murdered in Delhi in 2004.
Dibeyendu has been a core member of GayBombay, one of Mumbai’s longest running gay support groups. He has served on the jury of the Humsafar Trust Likho Awards for excellence in LGBT representation in media.
Dibeyendu retired from The Economic Times in 2019 and is currently a consulting editor with Vibes of India, an online news portal published from Ahmedabad.
Himanjali Sankar
Himanjali has written a few books and edited many more. She was formerly Editorial Director at Simon & Schuster India. Her children’s and YA books include The Stupendous Timetelling Dog and Talking of Muskaan, which were shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award. Mrs C Remembers, her first novel for adults, won her the FICCI Publishing Award for Upcoming Author of the Year in 2018.
Himanjalli is a lover of dogs, oceans and blue nail polish and is secretly proud that her latest novel, The Burnings, has made family and friends worry about what lives inside her head.
Himanjali Sankar
Himanjali has written a few books and edited many more. She was formerly Editorial Director at Simon & Schuster India. Her children’s and YA books include The Stupendous Timetelling Dog and Talking of Muskaan, which were shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award. Mrs C Remembers, her first novel for adults, won her the FICCI Publishing Award for Upcoming Author of the Year in 2018.
Himanjalli is a lover of dogs, oceans and blue nail polish and is secretly proud that her latest novel, The Burnings, has made family and friends worry about what lives inside her head.
K Vaishali
K Vaishali is an author based in Hyderabad, India. Her critically acclaimed memoir, Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India (Yoda Press & Simon & Schuster, 2023), won the 2024 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar for English and made the 2023 Rainbow Awards shortlist. She’s been recognized as a queer role model by egomonk and selected as the Specific Learning Disabilities delegate at the 2024 International Purple Fest organized by the Government of India.
She works as a documentation writer at a tech company and holds a Master’s in Communication from the University of Hyderabad. She was recently featured as a speaker at the Hyderabad Literary Festival, Dehradun Literature Festival, Dibrugarh Literature Festival, Rainbow Literary Festival, and Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival.
K Vaishali
K Vaishali is an author based in Hyderabad, India. Her critically acclaimed memoir, Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India (Yoda Press & Simon & Schuster, 2023), won the 2024 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar for English and made the 2023 Rainbow Awards shortlist. She’s been recognized as a queer role model by egomonk and selected as the Specific Learning Disabilities delegate at the 2024 International Purple Fest organized by the Government of India.
She works as a documentation writer at a tech company and holds a Master’s in Communication from the University of Hyderabad. She was recently featured as a speaker at the Hyderabad Literary Festival, Dehradun Literature Festival, Dibrugarh Literature Festival, Rainbow Literary Festival, and Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival.
Nidhi Suresh
Nidhi Suresh is an independent reporter with over seven years of experience in reporting on gender-based violence, crime, politics and militarization. In 2019, she graduated cum laude with a Masters in Masters in conflict studies and human rights from Utrecht University, Netherlands. She has written for Newslaundry, Newsminute, Deutsche Welle, France 24, Al Jazeera, Scroll, Caravan and Quint.
Her work was shortlisted for the 2025 global journalism True Story Award in Bern, Switzerland. She is a two-time recipient of the Laadli Media & Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity. Her story on a rape case was a finalist for the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) 2023 award under the category of ‘Excellence in Reporting on Women’s Issue.’ She was also featured in the PBS frontline documentary titled ‘India’s Rape Scandal’, in 2021.
Currently based out of New Delhi, Nidhi Suresh focuses on longform investigative stories around sexual violence at the intersections of caste, religion, sport and politics.
Nidhi Suresh
Nidhi Suresh is an independent reporter with over seven years of experience in reporting on gender-based violence, crime, politics and militarization. In 2019, she graduated cum laude with a Masters in Masters in conflict studies and human rights from Utrecht University, Netherlands. She has written for Newslaundry, Newsminute, Deutsche Welle, France 24, Al Jazeera, Scroll, Caravan and Quint.
Her work was shortlisted for the 2025 global journalism True Story Award in Bern, Switzerland. She is a two-time recipient of the Laadli Media & Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity. Her story on a rape case was a finalist for the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) 2023 award under the category of ‘Excellence in Reporting on Women’s Issue.’ She was also featured in the PBS frontline documentary titled ‘India’s Rape Scandal’, in 2021.
Currently based out of New Delhi, Nidhi Suresh focuses on longform investigative stories around sexual violence at the intersections of caste, religion, sport and politics.
Shals Mahajan
Shals Mahajan is a writer, activist, layabout, part feline, somewhat hooman genderqueer fellow who lives in Bombay, but mainly in their head. Their published works include Timmi in Tangles, Timmi and Rizu, and Reva and Prisha. They’ve also co-authored No Outlaws in the Gender Galaxy.
Shals Mahajan
Shals Mahajan is a writer, activist, layabout, part feline, somewhat hooman genderqueer fellow who lives in Bombay, but mainly in their head. Their published works include Timmi in Tangles, Timmi and Rizu, and Reva and Prisha. They’ve also co-authored No Outlaws in the Gender Galaxy.
Process Partner
Supporting Organisations
Co-ordinator
Rohin Bhatt
Rohin Bhatt (he/they) is a non-binary queer rights activist, lawyer and bioethicist. He currently works with Senior Advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover. He graduated from Gujarat National Law University in 2021 with a B.Sc. LL.B. (Hons.) and with a Master of Bioethics at Harvard Medical School in 2022. He is a co-founder of the Indian Bioethics Project at Gujarat National Law University which aims to bring Indian voices to the intersections of law, medicine and bioethics.
Apart from being a regular contributor to The Leaflet where he writes on issues of queer rights, reproductive justice and constitutional law, his work both public platforms such as the Hindu, The Indian Express, India Forum, The Probe, and the Wire Science and academic journals like The Law School Policy Review, The Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, Voices in Bioethics, and the Hastings Center Report. His work focuses on constitutional law, and bioethics, with a particular focus on feminist and queer approaches to bioethics to make healthcare policies and laws more accessible for queer persons, and the effects fascism has on human rights and their intersections.
Rohin Bhatt
Rohin Bhatt (he/they) is a non-binary queer rights activist, lawyer and bioethicist. He currently works with Senior Advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover. He graduated from Gujarat National Law University in 2021 with a B.Sc. LL.B. (Hons.) and with a Master of Bioethics at Harvard Medical School in 2022. He is a co-founder of the Indian Bioethics Project at Gujarat National Law University which aims to bring Indian voices to the intersections of law, medicine and bioethics.
Apart from being a regular contributor to The Leaflet where he writes on issues of queer rights, reproductive justice and constitutional law, his work both public platforms such as the Hindu, The Indian Express, India Forum, The Probe, and the Wire Science and academic journals like The Law School Policy Review, The Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, Voices in Bioethics, and the Hastings Center Report. His work focuses on constitutional law, and bioethics, with a particular focus on feminist and queer approaches to bioethics to make healthcare policies and laws more accessible for queer persons, and the effects fascism has on human rights and their intersections.
For any queries related to the process for submissions, we encourage you to go through the FAQ section
If you don’t find your answers there, please write to Yash Sharma, at contact@therainbowawards.in.
The Awards are a genre-supporting initiative of the Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation. Please write to the Founder, Sharif D Rangnekar at sdrangnekar@gmail.com, for more information on the Foundation and to find ways in supporting these Awards and other initiatives.
The Foundation holds an 80G and CSR1 certificate from the Government of India.
DWIJEN DINANATH ARTS FOUNDATION
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Phone: 9810270921
Email: sdrangnekar@gmail.com
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