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{{Short description|Indian author and winner of Shakti Bhatt prize}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Zara Chowdhary
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Chennai]], [[India]]
| occupation = Writer, producer, educator
| nationality = Indian
| education = [[University of Leeds]] (MA)<br>[[Iowa State University]] (MFA)
| genre = [[Memoir]], [[creative nonfiction]]
| notableworks = ''[[The Lucky Ones (memoir)|The Lucky Ones]]''
| awards = [[Shakti Bhatt Prize]] (2025)
| website = {{URL|https://www.zarachowdhary.com/}}
}}

'''Zara Chowdhary''' is an Indian writer, producer, and educator. Her debut memoir, ''[[The Lucky Ones (memoir)|The Lucky Ones]]'', was published in 2024 and received critical acclaim. She is the winner of the 2025 [[Shakti Bhatt Prize]].

== Early life and education ==
Chowdhary was born in [[Chennai]], India. She earned a Master of Arts in Writing for Performance from the [[University of Leeds]] and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Environment from [[Iowa State University]].<ref name="Zaracom">{{cite web |title=About Zara - Zara Chowdhary |url=https://www.zarachowdhary.com/about-zara |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=zarachowdhary.com}}</ref>

== Career ==
Before becoming a full-time writer and educator, Chowdhary worked in film, advertising, and media production for over a decade. Her work has been featured on [[Channel V]], [[National Geographic (Indian TV channel)|National Geographic India]], and [[Turner Classic Movies]].<ref name="Zaracom" />

Chowdhary is currently a lecturer at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]], where she teaches courses in Hindi, South Asian cultures, protest poetry, and creative nonfiction.<ref name="Zaracom" /><ref name="Lycoming">{{cite web |title=Widely acclaimed author Zara Chowdhary to read from debut memoir at Lycoming College |url=https://www.lycoming.edu/news/stories/2025/03/zara-chowdhary-humanities-research-conference.aspx |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=Lycoming College}}</ref> Her writing has been published in various anthologies and journals, including ''New Moons'' edited by [[Kazim Ali]], ''Flyway Journal'', and ''Cotton Xenomorph''.<ref name="Zaracom" />

=== ''The Lucky Ones'' ===
{{Main|The Lucky Ones (memoir)}}
Chowdhary's debut memoir, ''The Lucky Ones'', was published by [[Crown Publishing Group]] in 2024.<ref name="Kirkus">{{cite web |title=THE LUCKY ONES |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/zara-chowdhary/the-lucky-ones-5/ |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref> The book is a personal account of her experience as a sixteen-year-old during the [[2002 Gujarat riots]].<ref name="TheHindu2025">{{cite web |date=2025-06-27 |title=Zara Chowdhary wins 2025 Shakti Bhatt award for debut memoir |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/zara-chowdhary-wins-2025-shakti-bhatt-award-for-debut-memoir/article69744658.ece |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=2025-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250627144043/https://www.thehindu.com/books/zara-chowdhary-wins-2025-shakti-bhatt-award-for-debut-memoir/article69744658.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> The memoir explores themes of trauma, family, and the rise of [[Hindutva]] in India.<ref name="Madison365">{{cite web |date=2024-09-09 |title=Q&A with Zara Chowdhary, author of “The Lucky Ones” |url=https://madison365.com/qa-with-zara-chowdhary-author-of-the-lucky-ones/ |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=Madison365}}</ref>

''The Lucky Ones'' received widespread critical acclaim.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tiwary |first=Varsha |date=2025-01-14 |title=Book Review: In Her Memoir ‘The Lucky Ones’, Zara Chowdhary Refuses to Let Trauma Define Her Identity |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/the-lucky-ones-zara-chowdhary-memoir-2002-gujarat-riots/article69060672.ece |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Frontline |language=en |archive-date=2025-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250627172808/https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/the-lucky-ones-zara-chowdhary-memoir-2002-gujarat-riots/article69060672.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> It was named one of the ten best nonfiction books of 2024 by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gutterman |first=Annabel |date=2024-12-10 |title=The 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 |url=https://time.com/7200389/best-nonfiction-books-2024/ |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=TIME |language=en |archive-date=2025-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250627152314/https://time.com/7200389/best-nonfiction-books-2024/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Berkeley">{{cite web |title=Zara Chowdhary, The Lucky Ones: A Memoir (Book Talk & Review) |url=https://events.berkeley.edu/csas/event/294816-zara-chowdhary-the-lucky-ones-a-memoir-book-talk |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=events.berkeley.edu}}</ref> and was included in best-of-the-year lists by [[NPR]], ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', and ''[[Ms. (magazine)|Ms.]]''<ref name="Berkeley" /><ref name="AnjaliSingh">{{cite web |title=Zara Chowdhary — The Anjali Singh Agency |url=https://www.anjalisinghagency.com/about-zara-chowdhary |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=www.anjalisinghagency.com}}</ref> The book received starred reviews from ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' and ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''.<ref name="Kirkus" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lucky Ones: A Memoir by Zara Chowdhary |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593727430 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=www.publishersweekly.com |archive-date=2025-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250627152314/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593727430 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2025, Chowdhary was awarded the final iteration of [[Shakti Bhatt Prize]] for ''The Lucky Ones''.<ref name="TheHindu2025" />

== Personal life ==
Chowdhary resides in [[Madison, Wisconsin]], with her family.<ref name="Lycoming" />

== Works ==

* {{cite book |last=Chowdhary |first=Zara |title=The Lucky Ones |publisher=Crown Publishing Group |year=2024 |isbn=978-0593727430}}
{{Portal|Books
}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian writers]]
[[Category:Indian women writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Chennai]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds]]
[[Category:Iowa State University alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:Indian memoirists]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Shakti Bhatt Prize]]

Zara Chowdhary - Revision history

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