Hi! I'm Nandita, a student at Stanford studying computer science and creative writing. My writing is published in the Adroit Journal, Black Warrior Review, Waxwing, Four Way Review, and other venues. I am a national Scholastic Art & Writing medalist, Commended Foyle Young Poet, Keats-Shelley Young Romantics Prize finalist, American High School Poets Contest Editor’s Choice awardee, and Best of the Net nominee. I presented my research on David Bowie, feminism, and creativity at the IASPM conference. My short story "When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Fossil" won the 2022 Adroit Prize for Prose, selected by Kali Fajardo-Anstine.

Prose

"When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Fossil," Adroit Journal (winner of Adroit Prize for Prose)
"Kali," Waxwing
"Ashes," Four Way Review (nominated for Best of the Net)
"Ocean Graves," Black Warrior Review (print)

Poetry

"Hibernation," Rising Phoenix Review (nominated for Best of the Net)
"Cagelife," Rising Phoenix Review
"Burn," Blue Marble Review
"Drowning," Crashtest
"Ageless," Polyphony HS (print)
"My Father, The Tenor," National Poetry Quarterly
"For Everest," The Daphne Review

Readings

Four Way Review 10-Year Anniversary Reading, Dec 16, 2022
Adroit Journal Issue 42 Reading, Aug 16, 2022

Academic

"You Know I'll Be Free: Gnosticism, Feminism, and Creativity in David Bowie's Blackstar Album," presented at International Association for the Study of Popular Music Conference, 2022

Awards/Recognition

Adroit Prize for Prose, 2022
Best of the Net Nominee, 2x
Foyle Young Poets, Commended
American High School Poets National Winner and $100 Editor's Choice Award
Keats-Shelley Young Romantics Poetry Prize Finalist
Poetry Matters Prize Finalist

"'When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Fossil' is a wonderfully voice-driven short story with an inventive premise and deep love of human life and the natural world. Set against the blazing effects of climate change, “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Fossil” manages to address some of the most pressing planetary concerns of our time while closely and charmingly exploring adolescence, tedium, the life of work, and what intimacy means in the face of looming disaster. I adored this story and these characters."
- Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of Sabrina & Corina and Woman of Light