Arundhati Roy
Novelist and essayist, winner of the Booker Prize
- Age
- 64 yrs
- Birthday in 27 days
- Works listed
- 5
- Novel, Essay
- Honours
- 3
- Most recent 2024
- Profile views
- 3
- 0 followers
Arundhati Roy is a novelist and essayist whose debut novel, The God of Small Things, won the Booker Prize in 1997. Since then she has written mainly political essays on dams, nuclear weapons, Kashmir and inequality, and published a second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, in 2017.
Biography
Kerala and Delhi
Roy spent her childhood in Aymanam, Kerala, where her mother Mary Roy ran a school and later won a landmark case for Syrian Christian women’s inheritance rights. She studied architecture in Delhi and wrote the screenplay of In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989), which won a National Film Award.
The God of Small Things
Her first novel, The God of Small Things (1997), the story of twins in a Kerala family torn apart by caste and forbidden love, won the Booker Prize and became an international bestseller, translated into dozens of languages.
Essayist
Roy then turned to non-fiction. The End of Imagination (1998) attacked India’s nuclear tests, and The Greater Common Good (1999) supported the Narmada Bachao Andolan against the Sardar Sarovar dam. Her essays on globalisation, Maoist insurgency and Kashmir have made her one of India’s most prominent and controversial public critics.
Return to fiction
Twenty years after her debut she published The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017), which was longlisted for the Booker. She received the PEN Pinter Prize in 2024 and in 2025 published Mother Mary Comes to Me, a memoir of her mother.
Timeline
-
1961
Born in Shillong, Assam (now Meghalaya)
-
1989
National Film Award for screenplay
-
1997
Booker Prize for The God of Small Things
-
1998
The End of Imagination
-
1999
The Greater Common Good
-
2017
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
-
2024
PEN Pinter Prize
-
2025
Memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me
Notable works
-
1997
The God of Small Things Novel
-
1998
The End of Imagination Essay
-
1999
The Greater Common Good Essay
-
2017
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness Novel
-
2025
Mother Mary Comes to Me Book
Memoir.
Awards and honours
-
National Film Award for Best Screenplay
1989
-
Booker Prize
1997 · The God of Small Things.
-
PEN Pinter Prize
2024
Did you know?
-
1
She trained as an architect.
-
2
Her second novel came twenty years after her first.
-
3
Her mother won a landmark inheritance-rights case for women.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Arundhati Roy?
Arundhati Roy is a novelist and essayist whose debut novel, The God of Small Things, won the Booker Prize in 1997. Since then she has written mainly political essays on dams, nuclear weapons, Kashmir and inequality, and published a second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, in 2017.
How old is Arundhati Roy?
Arundhati Roy is 64 years old, born on 24 November 1961 in Shillong, Assam (now Meghalaya).
Where is Arundhati Roy from?
Arundhati Roy was born in Shillong, Assam (now Meghalaya).
What is Arundhati Roy known for?
Arundhati Roy is best known for The God of Small Things; The Ministry of Utmost Happiness; political essays.
What awards has Arundhati Roy received?
Notable honours include National Film Award for Best Screenplay (1989), Booker Prize (1997), PEN Pinter Prize (2024).
References
- Arundhati Roy — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Arundhati Roy — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Arundhati Roy — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Arundhati Roy — Spotify. Spotify. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Arundhati Roy — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Arundhati Roy — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Arundhati Roy (Q212801) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Arundhati Roy”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
Featured in
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 27 October 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Arundhati Roy.” TrackFame, last updated 28 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/arundhati-roy
Discussion 0
Sign in or create an account to join the discussion.
No comments yet — be the first.
More in Literature
Literature
Mahasweta Devi
Bengali writer and activist for tribal communities
1926 – 2016
Literature
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Educator and reformer who championed widow remarriage
1820 – 1891
Literature
Kabir
Fifteenth-century poet-saint of the Bhakti movement
Literature
Vikram Seth
Novelist and poet, author of A Suitable Boy
Born 1952
Film & TV
Gulzar
Poet, lyricist and film director
Born 1933
Politics & Leadership
Sarojini Naidu
Poet, freedom fighter and first woman governor of an Indian state
1879 – 1949