Tanwi Nandini Islam: Winner of Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction

Tanaïs or Tanwi Nandini Islam is an American fiction writer and perfumer of Bangladeshi origin who recently won the 2022 Kirkus Nonfiction Prize for her book, In Sensorium: Notes for My People.  

       On Thursday, 27 October, 2022, at the Austin Central Library Kirkus Reviews announced the three winners of their ninth annual Kirkus Prize in Fiction, Nonfiction and Young Readers' Literature. Each winner received a cash prize of 50,000 dollars.

        In a statement, the nonfiction judges said, "In overwhelming accordance, we selected In Sensorium by Tanaïs as the winner of the 2022 Kirkus Nonfiction Prize for its daring, inventiveness, vision, and lyrical eloquence. Using the framework of fragrance and scent, the author's work confronts aspects of our society related to women, gender, and people of color. Seductive, vital, and incomparable, this is a reading experience that endures."

       Tanais's first novel Bright Lines (Penguin Books) was published in 2015 . Set in Bangladesh and Brooklyn, the novel follows three young women and one family struggling to make peace with secrets and their past. It received raving reviews and won awards.

       Tanwi's parents migrated from Bangladesh to the US in the late 70s. Her father graduated from the Chemistry Department from the University of Dhaka and her mother worked in the banking sector. Tanwi was born in Illinois in 1982. Like most immigrant families, her parents also struggled much in their early days. In her writing, Tanwi brings back those troubled times and also about her own struggles that involved, race, gender and culture.