UnknownEdits0303 at 02:14, 26 March 2026

2026-03-26T02:14:36Z

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{{Short description|Indian poet and activist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Aditya Tiwari
| image = Aditya Tiwari. jpg.jpg
| caption = Aditya in London 2023
| occupation = Poet, Writer, Activist
| notable_works = {{Unbulleted list
|''April is Lush''
|''Over the Rainbow: India's Queer Heroes''
}}
| nationality = Indian
| alma_mater = [[University of East Anglia]]
| birth_place = [[Jabalpur]], [[India]]
}}

'''Aditya Tiwari''' is an Indian [[poet]], broadcaster,<ref>{{cite news |title=Jabalpur-born poet and broadcaster Aditya Tiwari honoured at UK Parliament with India-UK Achievers award |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/business/jabalpur-born-poet-and-broadcaster-aditya-tiwari-honoured-at-uk-parliament-with-india-uk-achievers-award/ |access-date=23 March 2026 |work=The Tribune}}</ref> and [[LGBTQ rights in India|LGBTQ rights]] activist.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=An Award-Winning Poet And A Queer Activist, Aditya Tiwari Holds The Key To The World Of Words |url=https://elle.in/in-conversation-with-award-winning-poet-aditya-tiwari-2023/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mitra |first=Chittajit |date=2023-10-21 |title=Aditya Tiwari's Queer India Chronicles |work=Outlook Weekender |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/culture-society/unsilenced-aditya-tiwari-queer-india-chronicles-weekender_story-325919 |access-date=2023-11-03}}</ref>

== Life and career ==
He was born in [[Jabalpur]], [[India]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Nagvenkar |first=Mayabhushan |date=2022-08-19 |title=We The People: Growing Up Queer In Jabalpur And In Search For A More Diverse India |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/national/we-the-people-growing-up-queer-in-jabalpur-and-in-search-for-a-more-diverse-india-news-217376 |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=Outlook |language=english}}</ref> and completed his primary education at [[St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= 6 January 2024|title='Literature saved my life. Writing gave me purpose': Poet, writer, and queer activist Aditya Tiwari |url=https://scroll.in/article/1061623/literature-saved-my-life-writing-gave-me-purpose-poet-writer-and-queer-activist-aditya-tiwari |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref> He then attended the [[University of East Anglia]] and received a Master of Arts in [[Journalism]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=9 September 2022 |title=Aditya Tiwari Talks About Navigating Through Queerness |url=https://www.shethepeople.tv/books/aditya-tiwari-navigating-through-queerness/ |access-date=2022-11-11 |website= |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Gilder |first=Ava |date=2022-09-05 |title=Intersecting Race & Sexuality: Aditya Tiwari Is The First Queer Indian To Host A BBC Podcast |url=https://homegrown.co.in/homegrown-creators/intersecting-race-sexuality-aditya-tiwari-is-the-first-queer-indian-to-host-a-bbc-podcast |access-date=2023-06-16 |website= |language=en}}</ref>

In ''[[Queeristan|Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace]]'' (2020), [[Parmesh Shahani]] wrote about meeting Aditya in 2019, describing him as a “young openly gay poet” from Jabalpur whose family’s acceptance empowered him to create “his own queer-friendly universe.” Shahani also noted his debut poetry collection, ''April'' ''is Lush'', which was published in 2019.<ref name="Queeristan">{{cite book |last=Shahani |first=Parmesh |title=''Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace'' |publisher=Westland Publications |year=2020 |isbn=9789357769525 |pages=261–262}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathews |first=Rohan |date=2019-12-21 |title=Lush, Plush And A Daze - Review Of Aditya's April Is Lush |url=https://www.gaylaxymag.com/articles/art-culture/lush-plush-and-a-daze-review-of-adityas-april-is-lush/ |access-date=2022-11-12 |website=Gaylaxy Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> The collection has since been archived in the Queer Cultural Resource Directory maintained by the [[Ashoka University|Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality at Ashoka University]] and has received recognition in [[Lambda Literary|''Lambda Literary Review'']] in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Studies |first=Center for Sexuality and Gender |title=Mapping Sexuality in India |url=https://csgs.ashoka.edu.in/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=Mapping Sexuality in India |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Marrion |date=2019-12-05 |title=Imagining a World with Queer Royals and Representation |url=https://lambdaliterary.org/2019/12/imagining-a-world-with-queer-royals-and-representation/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=Lambda Literary Review |language=en-US}}</ref> Aditya's poetry and activism gained wider attention in 2021 when [[GQ]] included him among "5 Indian Instagram poets" weighing in on creativity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting his focus on queer experiences outside metropolitan cities.<ref>{{Cite web|title=5 Indian Instagram poets weigh in on the pandemic|url=https://www.gqindia.com/get-smart/content/instagram-poets-weigh-in-on-the-pandemic|website=GQ India|date=2021-07-27|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-IN|first=Arman|last=Khan}}</ref> In 2023, he was featured in [[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan's]] "The Ones to Watch" issue, where he discussed growing up queer in a small town in India and the importance of representation for non-urban LGBTQ+ voices.<ref>{{Cite web|title=LGBTQ+ activist Aditya Tiwari talks about growing up queer in a small town in India - Cosmopolitan India|url=https://www.cosmopolitan.in/life/features/story/lgbtq-activist-aditya-tiwari-talks-about-growing-queer-small-town-india-668349-2023-03-28|website=www.cosmopolitan.in|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en}}</ref>

In 2023, Aditya's anthology ''Over the Rainbow: India’s Queer Heroes'' was published by [[Juggernaut Books]] during India’s marriage equality hearings.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-25 |title=Pride in diverse colours: Remembering India's LGBTQ icons |url=https://lifestyle.livemint.com//how-to-lounge/books/aditya-tiwari-new-book-honour-queer-icons-lgbtq-community-111698203206188.html |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=Mintlounge |language=en}}</ref> Notable figures featured in the anthology include novelist [[Vikram Seth]] and restaurateur [[Ritu Dalmia]] (who challenged [[Section 377]] in courts), India's first openly gay activist [[Ashok Row Kavi]], Dalit-transgender activist [[Grace Banu]], filmmaker [[Rituparno Ghosh]], transgender rights activist [[Laxmi Narayan Tripathi]], athlete [[Dutee Chand]], and lawyers [[Menaka Guruswamy]] and [[Arundhati Katju]], who challenged Section 377 before the [[Supreme Court of India]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Duggal |first=Deepansh |date=2024-01-26 |title=Aditya Tiwari interview: ‘Queer heroes have transformed lives of others like them’ |url=https://thefederal.com/category/features/aditya-tiwari-interview-queer-heroes-have-transformed-lives-of-others-like-them-107642 |access-date=2026-01-09 |website=thefederal.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of LGBTQIA+ Leaders |url=https://thewire.in/lgbtqia/the-history-of-lgbtqia-leaders |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=The Wire |language=en}}</ref> The book was featured by ''[[The Indian Express]]'' as a top Pride Month read.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-18 |title=5 Indian LGBTQ+ books to add to your Pride Month reading |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/5-indian-lgbtq-books-pride-month-reading-10044017/ |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> ''[[The Hindu]]'' described it as “lucidly written,”<ref name=":5" /> and ''[[Hindustan Times]]'' noted that it “presents the stories of 19 queer people who have done their bit to bring about positive change in society.”<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2023-10-23 |title=Review: Over the Rainbow; India's Queer Heroes by Aditya Tiwari |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-over-the-rainbow-india-s-queer-heroes-by-aditya-tiwari-101698083685253.html |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref>

He has spoken at various literary festivals, including the [[Hyderabad Literary Festival]] and [[New Delhi|New Delhi's]] Rainbow Lit Fest, one of [[India|India's]] largest [[LGBT]] literary festivals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Speakers – Page 28 – Hyderabad Literary Festival |url=https://hydlitfest.org/blog/speaker/page/28/ |access-date=2025-08-13 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-12-02 |title=Shashi Tharoor, Vivek Debroy Set to Join LGBTQ Artists, Authors for Second Edition of Rainbow Lit Fest |url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/digital-and-one-rainbow-lit-fest-is-back-with-second-edition-of-indias-biggest-queer-literary-event-3137933.html |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=News18 |language=en}}</ref> Aditya actively engages in advocacy for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ([[LGBT]]) community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Keeping fingers crossed, Bhopal's queer community awaits SC verdict on same-sex marriage |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/bhopal/keeping-fingers-crossed-bhopals-queer-community-awaits-sc-verdict-on-same-sex-marriage |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Free Press Journal |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-06-16 |title=Not much has changed for queer people in smaller cities and villages after the Navtej judgment: Aditya Tiwari |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/not-much-has-changed-for-queer-people-in-smaller-cities-and-villages-after-the-navtej-judgment-aditya-tiwari/article66963977.ece |access-date=2023-06-16 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> His work has appeared in several national and international publications, including ''[[The Times of India]], [[Hindustan Times]], [[PinkNews]], [[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]], [[Vice Media|VICE]], [[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]], [[The New Indian Express]],'' and ''[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ground Report: How the transgender community in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur struggles to earn a living |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/toi-original/ground-report-how-the-transgender-community-in-madhya-pradeshs-jabalpur-struggles-to-earn-a-living/videoshow/96936080.cms |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Aditya Tiwari- Read all stories from Aditya Tiwari |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/author/aditya-tiwari-101656602775399 |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tiwari |first=Aditya |date=2023-02-09 |title=India could legalise same-sex marriage. It would change these couples' lives |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/09/india-same-sex-marriage-supreme-court-ruling/ |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=PinkNews |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Slay the mental demons |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/slay-the-mental-demons/cid/1836729 |access-date=2024-07-21 |newspaper=The Telegraph|location=India|first=Aditya|last=Tiwari|date=1 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tiwari |first=Aditya |date=2021-06-25 |title=India’s Public Parks Have Played Home to Generations of Queer People. Including Me. |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/india-public-parks-queer-gay-liberation-movement-lgbtq/ |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tiwari |first=Aditya |date=2025-02-14 |title=The Intimacy Of Anonymity {{!}} A Clubhouse Love Story |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/culture-society/the-intimacy-of-anonymity-a-clubhouse-love-story |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=Outlook India |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tiwari |first=Aditya |date=2025-12-08 |title=The empire becomes a colony |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2025/Dec/08/the-empire-becomes-a-colony |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Faith, Exile and the Queer Body: Reading On the Brink of Belief |url=https://thewire.in/books/faith-exile-and-the-queer-body-reading-on-the-brink-of-belief |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=The Wire |language=en}}</ref>

In 2022, he produced and hosted a six-part radio series on the [[BBC]], focusing on men’s mental health and featuring conversations with contributors from diverse backgrounds.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Dutta |first1=Ujjaini |date=2022-07-29 |title=Queer Poet Becomes First Under-25 Indian to Host a Podcast on BBC Voices |url=https://livewire.thewire.in/gender-and-sexuality/bbc-voices-podcast-aditya-tiwari/ |access-date=2022-11-11 |website= |language=en-US}}</ref> Several media outlets reported that, with this programme, he became the first openly queer Indian to host a podcast for the [[BBC]], engaging themes of race, sexuality, identity, and mental wellbeing.<ref name=":3" />

He later served as a producer at [[BBC Radio Cambridgeshire]] in 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-09 |title=BBC Radio Cambridgeshire - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Fenland's pride |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0j9bbl3 |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-06 |title=First Fenland Pride held in Wisbech creates 'space for community' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dmrd5v98do |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> and in 2025 was one of twelve journalists from India and Germany selected to participate in an Indo-German journalists' exchange programme organised by the [[Goethe-Institut]] in partnership with [[Deutsche Welle|Deutsche Welle (DW)]] and other collaborators, aimed at rebuilding trust in the media.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Journalism Connect - Rewiring Trust in Media - Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan {{!}} India |url=https://www.goethe.de/ins/in/en/kul/fmd/jco.html |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=www.goethe.de}}</ref> The programme resulted in the publication of a handbook addressing key challenges facing journalism in Germany and India.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indo-German journalists exchange yields handbook on rewiring trust in media |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/indo-german-journalists-exchange-yields-handbook-on-rewiring-trust-in-media/ |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=The Tribune |language=en}}</ref>

== Honours and awards ==
In 2026, Aditya received the India-UK Achievers Honours as an “Outstanding Achiever” in the Media and Journalism category at the [[House of Lords]] in London.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-23 |title=This Man from MP's Jabalpur Gets Honoured at UK Parliament as 'Outstanding Achiever' - Why? |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/city/this-man-from-mp-jabalpur-gets-honoured-at-uk-parliament-as-outstanding-achiever-why-article-153901572 |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Times Now |language=en}}</ref> In the same year, he was shortlisted for the Toto Award for Creative Writing in English.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shortlist 2026 – Creative Writing (English) |url=https://totofundsthearts.org/2026/01/shortlist-2026-creative-writing-english.html |access-date=14 March 2026 |website=Toto Funds the Arts}}</ref>

== Selected works ==

* {{Cite book |last=Tiwari |first=Aditya |title=April is Lush |date=2019 |publisher=BlueRose Publishers Pvt. Limited |isbn=978-93-5347-349-5 |language=en}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Ramesh |first=Mythreyee |date=2023-06-01 |title=Challenging 'Radio Silence': How Queer & Trans Authors Are Fighting for Space |url=https://www.thequint.com/gender/how-queer-and-trans-authors-are-fighting-for-space-indian-publishing |access-date=2023-06-01 |website= |language=en}}</ref>
* {{Cite book |last=Tiwari |first=Aditya |title=Over the Rainbow: India's Queer Heroes |date=2023 |publisher=Juggernaut Publication |isbn=978-93-5345-175-2 |language=en}}<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Jha |first=Aditya Mani |date=2023-11-17 |title=Review of Aditya Tiwari's Over the Rainbow — India's Queer Heroes: Seeing the light |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/queer-people-india-society-issues/article67528169.ece |access-date=2023-11-17 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[List of LGBT writers]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://aditya-tiwari.com/ Official Website]
* [https://www.thechakkar.com/home/golchakkar11 Aditya's Interview on Indian Literature] with [[Ruth Vanita]]
* [https://mappingsexuality.ashoka.edu.in/search/?publications%5Bpage%5D=29 April is Lush at Centre for Studies in] [[Gender and sexuality|Gender and Sexuality]], [[Ashoka University]]

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiwari, Aditya}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Jabalpur]]
[[Category:Indian LGBTQ rights activists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Indian LGBTQ poets]]
[[Category:Indian poets]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Activists from Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Poets from Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian podcasters]]

Aditya Tiwari - Revision history

UnknownEdits0303 at 02:14, 26 March 2026