Ravi Chandrasekhar
I never planned to become a writer – my first career was spent in the chaotic world of emergency medicine, working nights in busy urban hospitals across Mumbai and later Chicago. It was during those long shifts that I began jotting down stories in between patients, finding that writing helped me process the intense human dramas I witnessed daily. My first collection of interconnected short stories, "Night Rounds," emerged from those experiences and caught the attention of The New Yorker, where several pieces were published before the book's release. These days, I split my time between writing and teaching creative writing at Northwestern University. My novels tend to explore the intersections of medicine, family, and cultural identity, though my latest work ventures into speculative fiction territory. When I'm not writing or teaching, I volunteer at a free medical clinic in Rogers Park, keeping one foot in the world that first inspired me to put pen to paper. Most mornings you'll find me at my neighborhood café, typing away on my well-worn macbook while drinking masala chai :)