William Dalrymple

William Dalrymple is a Scottish-born historian and travel writer, and expert on India and the Muslim world. All seven of his books have won major literary prizes; his first book In Xanadu (1989) became a highly acclaimed bestseller, and was written when he was only 22. In 1989, Dalrymple moved to Delhi, where he lived for six years researching City of Djinns, which went on to win the Sunday Times Young British Writers of the Year Award. Age of Kali, a collection of writing on India, won the French Priz D’Astrolabe in 2005. Dalrymple is fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Asiatic Society, and is co-director of Asia’s largest literary festival, held in the city of Jaipur. The Royal Scottish Geographical Society awarded Dalrymple the Mungo Park Medal in 2002 for his “outstanding contribution to travel literature”. He divided his time between London and Delhi. His latest book, Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India portrays nine spiritual seekers living across India.