Nilanjana Sudeshna "Jhumpa" Lahiri is a British-American author of immense talent, known for her compelling short stories, novels, and essays. Born on July 11, 1967, in London, Lahiri's work primarily explores the nuances of the Indian-immigrant experience in America, a theme that resonates deeply with a wide audience. Her debut collection, Interpreter of Maladies (1999), not only won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction but also the PEN/Hemingway Award, marking her as a significant voice in contemporary literature.

Her first novel, The Namesake (2003), further cemented her reputation, being adapted into a popular film and garnering critical acclaim as a New York Times Notable Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Lahiri's subsequent works, including Unaccustomed Earth (2008) and The Lowland (2013), continued to receive high praise and awards, with The Lowland being a finalist for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction. In 2015, she won the $50,000 DSC Prize for Literature for The Lowland.

In 2012, Lahiri's creative journey took her to Rome, Italy, where she embraced a new linguistic challenge by writing and publishing in Italian. Her first novel in Italian, Dove mi trovo (2018), and her efforts in compiling, editing, and translating the Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories showcase her versatile talent and commitment to literary exploration. This period of her career also includes translations of her own writings and those of other authors from Italian into English.

Lahiri's contributions to literature were recognized with the National Humanities Medal in 2014. A respected educator, she served as a professor of creative writing at Princeton University from 2015 to 2022, and in 2022, she took on the role of Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Barnard College of Columbia University, her alma mater.