Born in Salem, Tamil Nadu, Subramaniam Shankar is an Indian American cultural critic, novelist, and translator who has lived in the USA since 1987. His works often explore the complexities of human relationships, cultural clashes, and the changing social fabric of India. He was the recipient of the Fulbright-Nehru Award in 2017. He was also a Scholar-in-Residence at the Center of Critical Race Studies at the University of Houston. Shankar’s research interests and work span postcolonial literature, immigration and refugee studies, film, cultural studies, and creative writing. He serves as the Department Chair at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.