Hunter faculty member Megha Majumdar’s second novel, A Guardian and a Thief, has been named a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction.
It was also picked by Oprah’s Book Club.
It’s the second time Majumdar has been nominated for the prize; her debut novel, A Burning, a New York Times bestseller and a 2020 Times Notable Book, was longlisted.
A native of Kolkata, India, Majumdar is a distinguished lecturer in Hunter’s English Department and teaches in its MFA Creative Writing Program. She also attended but did not complete the Hunter MFA program.
“It’s impressive enough to have your first novel be nominated for the National Book Award, but she’s now accomplished this twice in a row, which is amazing and very well deserved,” said MFA Creative Writing Director Adam Haslett. “We’re incredibly proud and lucky to have Megha, who attended the MFA program at Hunter, be back at the college as a colleague and a teacher.”
A Guardian and a Thief (Knopf, 2025) is set in a dystopian future in Majumdar’s native city, which the book depicts as a hellscape ravaged by flood and famine. The story centers on the travails of two families as they scrape and scramble to survive.
“Megha Majumdar is wise beyond her years. She’s able to bring in cultural conflicts and interweave the way people live and relate to each other in such a way that leaves us spellbound,” Oprah said in announcing Majumdar’s selection for her club.
Majumdar will read from A Guardian and a Thief as part of the Distinguished Writers Series on November 6 at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. The National Book Award winners will be announced live on November 19 at the invitation-only 76th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner at Cipriani Wall Street.
