Aditya Tiwari

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Aditya Tiwari is an Indian poet, broadcaster,[1] and LGBTQ rights activist.[2][3]

Life and career

He was born in Jabalpur, India[4] and completed his primary education at St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School.[5] He then attended the University of East Anglia and received a Master of Arts in Journalism.[6][7]

In 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also noted his debut poetry collection, April is Lush, which was published in 2019.[8][9] The collection has since been archived in the Queer Cultural Resource Directory maintained by the Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality at Ashoka University and has received recognition in Lambda Literary Review in the United States.[10][11] 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.[12] In 2023, he was featured in 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.[13]

In 2023, Aditya's anthology Over the Rainbow: India’s Queer Heroes was published by Juggernaut Books during India’s marriage equality hearings.[4][14] 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.[15][16] The book was featured by The Indian Express as a top Pride Month read.[17] The Hindu described it as “lucidly written,”[18] 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.”[19]

He has spoken at various literary festivals, including the Hyderabad Literary Festival and New Delhi's Rainbow Lit Fest, one of India's largest LGBT literary festivals.[20][21] Aditya actively engages in advocacy for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.[22][23] His work has appeared in several national and international publications, including The Times of India, Hindustan Times, PinkNews, The Telegraph, VICE, Outlook, The New Indian Express, and The Wire.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]

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.[32] 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.[7]

He later served as a producer at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire in 2024,[33][34] 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 (DW) and other collaborators, aimed at rebuilding trust in the media.[35] The programme resulted in the publication of a handbook addressing key challenges facing journalism in Germany and India.[36]

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.[37] In the same year, he was shortlisted for the Toto Award for Creative Writing in English.[38]

Selected works

  • April is Lush{{#if:Tiwari|, Tiwari}. BlueRose Publishers Pvt. Limited(2019). ISBN 978-93-5347-349-5[39]
  • Over the Rainbow: India's Queer Heroes{{#if:Tiwari|, Tiwari}. Juggernaut Publication(2023). ISBN 978-93-5345-175-2[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jabalpur-born poet and broadcaster Aditya Tiwari honoured at UK Parliament with India-UK Achievers award. The Tribune. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  2. ↑ An Award-Winning Poet And A Queer Activist, Aditya Tiwari Holds The Key To The World Of Words(2023-06-30). Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  3. ↑ Aditya Tiwari's Queer India Chronicles. Outlook Weekender(2023-10-21). Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 We The People: Growing Up Queer In Jabalpur And In Search For A More Diverse India, Nagvenkar, Mayabhushan. Outlook(2022-08-19). Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  5. ↑ 'Literature saved my life. Writing gave me purpose': Poet, writer, and queer activist Aditya Tiwari. Scroll.in(6 January 2024). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  6. ↑ Aditya Tiwari Talks About Navigating Through Queerness(9 September 2022). Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Intersecting Race & Sexuality: Aditya Tiwari Is The First Queer Indian To Host A BBC Podcast, Gilder, Ava(2022-09-05). Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  8. ↑ 'Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace'{{#if:Shahani|, Shahani}. Westland Publications(2020). ISBN 9789357769525
  9. ↑ Lush, Plush And A Daze - Review Of Aditya's April Is Lush, Mathews, Rohan. Gaylaxy Magazine(2019-12-21). Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  10. ↑ Mapping Sexuality in India, Studies, Center for Sexuality and Gender. Mapping Sexuality in India. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  11. ↑ Imagining a World with Queer Royals and Representation, Johnson, Marrion. Lambda Literary Review(2019-12-05). Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  12. ↑ 5 Indian Instagram poets weigh in on the pandemic, Khan, Arman. GQ India(2021-07-27). Retrieved 2026-02-01.
  13. ↑ LGBTQ+ activist Aditya Tiwari talks about growing up queer in a small town in India - Cosmopolitan India. www.cosmopolitan.in. Retrieved 2026-02-01.
  14. ↑ Pride in diverse colours: Remembering India's LGBTQ icons. Mintlounge(2023-10-25). Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  15. ↑ Aditya Tiwari interview: ‘Queer heroes have transformed lives of others like them’, Duggal, Deepansh. thefederal.com(2024-01-26). Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  16. ↑ The History of LGBTQIA+ Leaders. The Wire. Retrieved 2026-03-23.
  17. ↑ 5 Indian LGBTQ+ books to add to your Pride Month reading. The Indian Express(2025-06-18). Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Review of Aditya Tiwari's Over the Rainbow — India's Queer Heroes: Seeing the light. The Hindu(2023-11-17). Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  19. ↑ Review: Over the Rainbow; India's Queer Heroes by Aditya Tiwari. Hindustan Times(2023-10-23). Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  20. ↑ Speakers – Page 28 – Hyderabad Literary Festival. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  21. ↑ Shashi Tharoor, Vivek Debroy Set to Join LGBTQ Artists, Authors for Second Edition of Rainbow Lit Fest. News18(2020-12-02). Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  22. ↑ Keeping fingers crossed, Bhopal's queer community awaits SC verdict on same-sex marriage. Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2023-04-07.
  23. ↑ Not much has changed for queer people in smaller cities and villages after the Navtej judgment: Aditya Tiwari. The Hindu(2023-06-16). Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  24. ↑ Ground Report: How the transgender community in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur struggles to earn a living. The Times of India. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  25. ↑ Aditya Tiwari- Read all stories from Aditya Tiwari. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  26. ↑ India could legalise same-sex marriage. It would change these couples' lives, Tiwari, Aditya. PinkNews(2023-02-09). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  27. ↑ Slay the mental demons. The Telegraph(1 November 2021). Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  28. ↑ India’s Public Parks Have Played Home to Generations of Queer People. Including Me., Tiwari, Aditya. VICE(2021-06-25). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  29. ↑ The Intimacy Of Anonymity | A Clubhouse Love Story, Tiwari, Aditya. Outlook India(2025-02-14). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  30. ↑ The empire becomes a colony, Tiwari, Aditya. The New Indian Express(2025-12-08). Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  31. ↑ Faith, Exile and the Queer Body: Reading On the Brink of Belief. The Wire. Retrieved 2026-02-09.
  32. ↑ Queer Poet Becomes First Under-25 Indian to Host a Podcast on BBC Voices(2022-07-29). Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  33. ↑ BBC Radio Cambridgeshire - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Fenland's pride. BBC(2024-07-09). Retrieved 2025-10-01.
  34. ↑ First Fenland Pride held in Wisbech creates 'space for community'. BBC News(2024-07-06). Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  35. ↑ Journalism Connect - Rewiring Trust in Media - Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan | India. www.goethe.de. Retrieved 2025-08-13.
  36. ↑ Indo-German journalists exchange yields handbook on rewiring trust in media. The Tribune. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  37. ↑ This Man from MP's Jabalpur Gets Honoured at UK Parliament as 'Outstanding Achiever' - Why?. Times Now(2026-03-23). Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  38. ↑ Shortlist 2026 – Creative Writing (English). Toto Funds the Arts. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  39. ↑ Challenging 'Radio Silence': How Queer & Trans Authors Are Fighting for Space, Ramesh, Mythreyee(2023-06-01). Retrieved 2023-06-01.

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