Team

Anuja has nearly two decades of experience in creating compelling concepts and designs. With a flair for blending art into strong communication mediums, she has catered to some of the country’s leading brands – ACC Cement, Dabur, Max India, Future Capital Holdings, Tata Trust, Motherson Sumi, Maruti, and Hiranandani to name a few – across print, web, and digital mediums. As one of the founding members of Wyatt Communications, she built and mentored the design team.

Anup Jerajani is a third-generation bookseller with over 17 years of experience as a book retailer, in both offline and online retail. He founded and led The Write Place Publishing, the in-house publishing initiative for Crossword bookstores. The Write Place Publishing was instrumental in giving a platform to first-time authors and under Anup’s tenure over 300 titles were published, some of which became bestsellers. He managed the buying and merchandising for the Books category for Crossword bookstores and led the online business teams for the company. After spending 17 enriching years as an offline books retailer, he moved on to build and manage the trade books business for Cocoblu (Amazon) as a Senior Vendor Manager.

Jyotirmoy is an independent content creator with twenty years of experience as an editor, researcher, and writer having worked with magazines and books across print and the web. He has edited diverse areas – the environment, defence and aviation, social sciences, and for five years now upcoming fiction writers. He also enjoys working on narrative non-fiction – travel, memoir, and biography. He has worked with Down To Earth, Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review, and the United Service Institution of India. His association with AuthorsUpFront began with the publication of Gas Wars: Crony Capitalism and the Ambanis of which he is a co-author.

Kavita is an editorial and communications specialist in the publishing, education, and e-learning industry. Synergizing her fascination for the realm of books and media, and a passion to contribute to development, her experience spans over three decades: social development for organizations such as UNICEF and IPPF, learning development for NIIT, LiqvidE-learning, Hero Mindmine, and worked with publishing houses such as Popular Prakashan and AuthorsUpFront. Kavita feels her work as an editor for AuthorsUpFront is especially rewarding because of the connection with a rich array of books and authors.

With experience of over two decades in the publishing industry, Madhuparna has worked as copyeditor for Sage India, Niyogi Books, and StreeSamya and continues to work as a freelance editor for academic books on social sciences for research scholars abroad and publications associated with Routledge India, TISS Guwahati, and Kassel University (Germany).

Manish has over two decades of experience in the world of publishing – newspapers, magazines, and books. As far as books go, he considers himself lucky to have experimented with print, internet, and mobile formats, in a number of Indian languages. He has set up and run publishing businesses and worked with leading brands such as The Times Group, Business Standard, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Popular Prakashan and Disney Publishing Worldwide. He also teaches media students as visiting faculty at reputed institutions.

Neena is a brand ideator and a book cover designer. While she chose branding as a career, book designing is something she is most passionate about. She has over 15 years of experience in Visual Branding, Design Thinking & Strategy and Digital Communications. She also mentors start-ups from time to time.

Doc Kirpal to most of us, Rakov has over the last decade executed web initiatives for many organizations, including LexisNexis India, Businessworld, Encyclopaedia Britannica, GIZ, Vestergaard Frandsen, Gutenberg Communications, UNAIDS India, and Indian Development Foundation. He has also helped many authors in publishing their e-books. Rakov has an organic understanding of search engine optimization (SEO). Doc is hooked to the internet and running, which along with reading and watching movies are his principal means of relaxation.

Ram Das is a professional layout designer with over twenty yearsof experience in layout, visualization, and graphics across different formats, be it print or web. He specializes in book composing – design, and layout. Ram Das is proficient in various design software and known for his problem-solving skills and DIY attitude. Over the years he has handled assignments with magazines, advertising agencies, and leading publishers including Pearson India and Bloomsbury India. He has been associated with AuthorsUpFront since its inception.

Ramya has been a writer since she was a child, starting at age 6 with ‘Autobiography of a Schoolgirl’. Since then she has honed her skills as a writer and an editor, as an adult working with The Times of India group’s various publications, India Today and DNA, writing on people, art, food, lifestyle, glamour and design. She has contributed to a number of websites and magazines, and has created and maintained well-received websites, from Femina and Filmfare, to Indiatimes movies, Bollywoodlife to SoundBoxIndia. Her interest in food and cooking has helped her edit and write cookbooks, and she has been the author of a number of works of fiction as well as non-fiction.

Sonia is a blogger/writer/editor/proofreader based in Delhi. She has a decade long experience in teaching, which she now utilizes in providing pro bono services to the lesser privileged. She has worked as a content creator for a children’s newspaper and merrily volunteers for alpha and beta reading of manuscripts. An avid reader with a background in English Literature, she takes pride in quoting and writing heavy verses. Her poems and short stories have been published (or upcoming) in various anthologies. She is an author with Women’s Web and lends her voice to several women’s issues.

Vandana Bhagra, editor, writer, publisher, and founder of KEEKLI – a children’s webzine and bilingual monthly newspaper, is a young entrepreneur from the hill town of Shimla. Having worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years with popular publishing spaces such as Himachal Times, Consumer VOICE, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dorling Kindersley, Oxford & IBH Publications, Energy India, the profession is not just another job for her. It is a passion and a commitment. Her articles on tourism and travel are often featured in the Shimla edition of the Times of India.