Books by Dipika Mukherjee
My debut novel, Thunder Demons, later republished as Ode to Broken Things, was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize. My second novel, Shambala Junction, won the UK Virginia Prize for Fiction.
I am also the author of the short story collection Rules of Desire, the poetry collection The Third Glass of Wine, and the chapbook The Palimpsest of Exile. My work often explores identity, memory, migration, exile, belonging, and the emotional complexities of human relationships.
For over two decades, I have mentored Southeast Asian writers and edited five anthologies of Southeast Asian fiction, helping bring diverse regional voices to wider readerships.
I am part of the curating team and a featured writer in My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today, a popular exhibition at the American Writers Museum in Chicago. My novel Shambala Junction is included in this exhibition.
Fiction
Shambala Junction. Novel. 2016
WINNER OF THE 4TH VIRGINIA PRIZE FOR FICTION
Iris is visiting India from the US for the first time with her fiance, and not enjoying the experience. When she steps down off the train for a bottle of water at Shambala Junction…
Ode to Broken Things. Novel. 2016
Longlisted For Man Asian Literary Prize (Published as Thunder Demons in the Indian Subcontinent)
Colonel S–biomedical engineer, explosives expert, and and the Malaysian government go-to hitman, has been doing the dirty work of the rich and corrupt.
Rules of Desire. 2015
YEARNING BECOMES BOTH DANGEROUS AND EROTIC
Dipika Mukherjee’s stories careen from urban Kuala Lumpur to cosmopolitan Shanghai, then small towns of India and the remote wilderness of America. Seventeen stories explore the realities of rapidly changing countries.
Southeast Asian Short Stories: Edited Anthologies
D.K. Dutt Memorial Award For Literary Excellence: The D. K. Dutt Memorial Award For Literary Excellence was established in 2015 to honor the life of Delip Kumar Dutt (1929-2015), an educator and an avid sportsman. This prize was discontinued after running for four years and yielding three wonderful anthologies showcasing Malaysian stories, edited by Dipika Mukherjee and Sharon Bakar. All the anthologies, Endings and Beginnings (2018), Bitter Root, Sweet Fruit (2017) and Champion Fellas (2016), were published by Word Works and are available for sale at leading Malaysian bookstores.
The Merlion and The Hibiscus was published by Penguin in 2002 and the Silverfish New Anthology 6 was published in 2006 both feature a collection of Malaysian and Singaporean stories.
Endings And Beginnings
An Anthology of endings-and-beginnings-themed Malaysian stories, Edited by Dipika Mukherjee and Sharon Bakar
Bitter Root, Sweet Fruit
An Anthology of education-themed Malaysian stories, Edited by Dipika Mukherjee and Sharon Bakar
Champion Fellas
An Anthology of sports-themed Malaysian stories, Edited by Dipika Mukherjee and Sharon Bakar
Silverfish New Writing 6
Edited by Dipika Mukherjee
The Merlion and the Hibiscus
Edited by Dipika Mukherjee, Kirpal Singh, M.A. Quayum
Poetry
Academic Book
NATIONAL LANGUAGE PLANNING & LANGUAGE SHIFTS IN MALAYSIAN MINORITY COMMUNITIES: SPEAKING IN MANY TONGUES
ICAS/IIAS SERIES, AMSTERDAM: AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS, (NETHERLANDS). 2011 (EDITED. WITH DAVID, M)
Malaysia has long been a vibrant melting pot of cultures, languages, religions, and ethnicities, with Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities forming the country’s three largest population groups.
Despite this rich multicultural foundation, efforts to implement and strengthen multilingualism, supported by language educators, researchers, and policy makers, have often been complicated by political, cultural, and religious affiliations. These influences have shaped the way languages are taught, preserved, valued, and used across different communities and generations.
Drawing on two decades of field research, this timely analysis of language variation in Malaysia makes an important contribution to the understanding of linguistic pluralism in the country.
It also offers valuable insight into the Indian Diaspora, the experiences of urban migrant populations, and the wider effects of language change in multilingual and multicultural societies.
By examining the relationship between language, identity, migration, and social change, this work provides a deeper perspective on how communities negotiate belonging while preserving their linguistic and cultural heritage.
In Translation
So my songs continued in secret, whispered over the children’s eyes as the moon faded and blossomed into a new eclipse, a new full moon, the sky throbbing to the rhythm of our blood, Rahu and Ketu swallowing the whole star and spitting it out again. [Page 15]
The language of Khawnaa” by Dipika Mukherjee is one of the first publications of the new collection of the publishing house Le Banyan “Les Instantanés” inspired by literary magazines in India.
La langue de Khawnaa” est une savoureuse, très belle et courte histoire, qui apporte une réflexion sur la vieillesse et la décrépitude. A la fois drôle et touchante, cette histoire permet de découvrir la merveilleuse écriture de Dipika Mukherjee, une auteure d’origine bengalie, maintes fois primées pour ses fictions et pour ses poésies.
