Playwright and author Anosh Irani was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and moved to Vancouver in 1998. He penned three critically acclaimed and award-winning novels: The Cripple and His Talismans, Dahanu Road and The Song of Kahunsha, which was a finalist for CBC Radio’s Canada Reads. His fiction writing has been published in thirteen countries, and his non-fiction has appeared in The Globe and Mail and The New York Times. Irani was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for his anthology, The Bombay Plays: The Matka King & Bombay Black. He lives in Vancouver, BC.

The Parcel

The Parcel is a powerful new work about a transgender sex worker named Madhu from the red-light district of Bombay. Madhu, now at 40 and no longer in the profession, one day is given an unexpected task. He receives a call from Padma Madam, the most feared brothel owner in the district, and is told a “parcel” has arrived. It’s a young girl from the provinces, betrayed and trafficked by her aunt, and Madhu must prepare her for her fate. This is a dark, devastating, but ultimately redemptive novel that promises to be one of the most talked-about publications of the year.