किनारा / کنارہ
Kinara
Voices between worlds, languages, & histories

Kinara Books is an independent literary press dedicated to publishing poetry and prose with an unmistakable voice, from the South Asian diaspora and beyond. We believe in stories that live on the edge.

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What’s in a Name? kinara

In Hindi/Urdu, Kinara means shore, edge, or margin, inherited and absorbed from the Persian language centuries ago. It is the space where a vast, restless expanse of water meets the solidity of earth. For us, the shoreline is a harbinger of both arrival and departure, a metaphor of the migratory nature of diaspora life.

Kinara Books was founded to be a dedicated sanctuary for this precious liminal space. We are drawn to manuscripts that navigate the complexities of shifting landscapes, cultural memory, and inherited archives, translating the fractures of migration into luminous art.

Our Compass

What We Admire

“Sometimes we feel we straddle two cultures; at other times, that we fall between two stools.”
Salman Rushdie
Year one · 2027

The First Tide

Our first titles are being acquired now, poetry-forward, two to four books a year, anchored by one work of hybrid or narrative prose. Full list to be announced as titles are confirmed.

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Rescued & reprinted

The Backbench

The Backbench brings overlooked and out-of-print titles back into print and distribution.

We’re currently identifying the first titles for this list. Know a book that deserves a second life?

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At the Lighthouse

The Press

Shikha Malaviya
Founder & Editor
Shikha Malaviya

Shikha Malaviya is a poet and writer with decades of publishing experience and crisscrossing shores. She is the quintessential third coast kid who reverse migrated to her homeland twice. She started the first online South Asian literary journal, Monsoon Magazine, in 1999, and later co-founded The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective, publishing some of India and the diaspora’s most innovative poetic voices. She is the author of Anandibai Joshee: A Life in Poems (HarperCollins India) and the earlier collection Geography of Tongues. You can learn more about her at shikhamalaviya.com.

Urvashi Bahuguna
Associate Editor
Urvashi Bahuguna

Urvashi is a poet and essayist who grew up in Goa and lived for many years in Delhi before moving to the Bay Area and later settling in New York City. Her work has been recognised by fellowships from Vermont Studio Center, Tin House, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Atlantic Center for the Arts, among others. She is the author of the poetry collection Terrarium and the essay collection No Straight Thing Was Ever Made (Penguin India), and has been a Reading Fellow at Tin House.

Guiding Lights

The Advisory Circle

Writers, editors, and other creatives who counsel us, vouch for us, and keep the list honest.

Poetry Translation Editorial Design Community

Members to be announced soon.

Join us at the shore.

Early word on titles and events, before the tide comes in.