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Sweta Srivastava Vikram is an award-winning poet, writer, novelist, author, essayist, columnist, educator, and blogger. Born in India, Sweta spent her formative years between the steel city of Rourkela, the blue waters of North Africa, the green hills of Mussoorie, and the erudite air of Pune before arriving in bustling New York. Growing up between three continents, six cities, five schools, and three masters degrees, what remained constant in Sweta’s life was her relationship with words.

Today, Sweta is the author of three chapbooks of poetry, Because All Is Not Lost (Modern History Press, 2010), Kaleidoscope: An Asian Journey of Colors (Modern History Press, 2010), and Beyond the Scent of Sorrow (Modern History Press, 2011). While Kaleidoscope: An Asian Journey of Colors was nominated for the Pushcart Prize (2010) and Asian American Members’ Choice Awards (2011), Beyond the Scent of Sorrow was nominated for the Independent Literary Awards(2011). Sweta's books are the highest selling poetry books from Modern History Press.

Sweta is also the co-author of a poetry collection (in collaboration with a poet from Zimbabwe), Whispering Woes of Ganges & Zambezi (Cyberwit 2010) and Not All Birds Sing (in collaboration with a visual artist from Australia). Not All Birds Sing, a book in which Sweta responds to visual art pieces with haikus, broke sales records and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2011.

Taj Mahal Review describes Sweta as "A poet with hauntingly beautiful talent.". Sweta was short-listed for the Unisun Poetry Prize.

Sweta’s first novel, Perfectly Untraditional (Niyogi Books), was released in April 2011. Her first nonfiction, hybrid collection of prose and poems, Mouth full (J Publishing Company Ltd.), will be published in England in 2012. Sweta’s poems, essays, fiction stories, and book reviews have appeared or are forthcoming in literary journals, online publications, and anthologies across United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, New Zealand, and Philippines. Her individual pieces too have been nominated for awards in both the United States and India.

Sweta won Wesleyan Scholarship for the Wesleyan Writers Conference and was awarded a part scholarship by Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation in San Francisco. She has held several artist residencies in Europe, America, and Asia and worked on collaborative projects with artists from around the globe. She is seen at poetry and prose readings across the United States, Asia, and Europe and as a panelist at literary festivals in Europe, India, and America. Sweta gives talks at universities on gender issues and also teaches creative writing workshops to adults and children.

Sweta is involved with the South Asian Women's Creative Collective and serves on the board of DesiLit, a literary organization that builds support for South Asian and Diaspora writers. She also consults with Siyahi, India first literary agency. While her first love is the written word, spoken ones come a close second. In her life before diving wholeheartedly and headlong into writing her books, Sweta was a Radio Jockey with RBC Radio in New York. Her show focused on bringing Bollywood from the shores of India to the masses of NY/NJ/CT.

A graduate of Columbia University, Sweta now lives in New York City. She is currently working on new fiction and full-length poetry book.

If you’d like to stay updated on what Sweta has been up to, follow her on Twitter (@ssvik) or join her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Words.By.Sweta)