V.J. James writes in Malayalam. Born and brought up in Changanacherry, Kerala, he currently resides in Thiruvananthapuram. An engineer by profession, he worked at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. His debut novel Purappadinte Pusthakam was awarded the DC Silver Jubilee Award (1999), Malayattoor Prize and Rotary Literary Award. Other awards include the O.V Vijayan Award and Thikkurissi Award for Anti-Clock, and the Thoppil Ravi Award, Kerala Bhasha Institute Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, Basheer Puraskaram and Vayalar Award for Nireeshwaran. The English translation of Chorashasthram was shortlisted for the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize. The Malayalam film Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol starring Mohanlal and Meena is an adaptation of his short story Pranayopanishath. Along with six short story collections, his major works include Purappadinte Pusthakam (1999), Chorashasthram (2002), Dathapaharam (2005), Leyka (2006), Ottakkaalan Kakka (2013), Nireeshwaran (2014) and Anti-Clock (2018).

Ministhy S. is an IAS officer working in the Uttar Pradesh cadre. She translates between three languages: English, Malayalam and Hindi. Her translation of The Poison of Love by Malayalam novelist K.R. Meera was longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017 and The Unseeing Idol of Light by the same author shortlisted for the Crossword Book Jury Awards in 2018. She has further translated Sundar Kanda and Kishkindha Kanda from Awadhi to English, and the poetry collections My Home, After Me by Agneya from the Hindi and The Heaviness of the Rain by Veerankutty from the Malayalam.