What do Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, Hari Kunzru, Zadie Smith, Martin Amis and Monica Ali have in common? Each of these writers have been a part of literary bible Granta’s Best of Young British Novelist’s lists since its inaugural edition was announced in 1983.u00a0Since then, every ten years, the London-based literary magazine names 20 writers it considers as the Best of Young British Novelists. This time, the list is a mix of eclectic, insightful work, ranging from writers either born outside Britain or as children of immigrants. The scape is huge — Hungary, India, China, Australia, Pakistan and Jamaica. As many as 150 authors below the age of 40 submitted excerpts for the 2013 list. Of the 20, as many as 12 were women. Sunjeev Sahota, a Punjabi Sikh, comes across as an interesting inclusion to this list — an author who didn’t read his first novel until he was 18, and that too, of Granta alumnus, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. We find out more from the low-profile author.

Such a long Journey: An elderly man on crutches passes a Conservative election poster in the suburb of Southal, southwest London. PIC/ AFP