Aditya Tiwari | |
|---|---|
 Aditya in London 2023 | |
| Born | |
| Occupation | Poet, Writer, Activist |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | University of East Anglia |
| Notable works |
|
Aditya Tiwari is an Indian poet, writer, and LGBTQ rights activist. [1] [2]
Aditya Tiwari | |
|---|---|
| Aditya in London 2023 | |
| Born | |
| Occupation | Poet, Writer, Activist |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | University of East Anglia |
| Notable works |
|
Aditya Tiwari is an Indian poet, writer, and LGBTQ rights activist. [1] [2]
He was born in Jabalpur, India [3] and completed his primary education at St. Aloysius Senior Secondary School. [4] He then attended the University of East Anglia and received a Master of Arts in Journalism. [5] [6]
In Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace (2020), Parmesh Shahani wrote about meeting Aditya in 2019, describing him as a “young openly gay poet” from Jabalpur whose family’s acceptance empowered him to create “his own queer-friendly universe.” Shahani also noted his debut poetry collection, Aprilis Lush, which was published in 2019. [7] [8]
In 2023, Aditya's anthology Over the Rainbow: India’s Queer Heroes was published by Juggernaut Books during India’s marriage equality hearings. [3] [9] Notable figures featured in the anthology include novelist Vikram Seth and restaurateur Ritu Dalmia (who challenged Section 377 in courts), India's first openly gay activist Ashok Row Kavi, Dalit-transgender activist Grace Banu, filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, transgender rights activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, and athlete Dutee Chand. [10] The book was featured by The Indian Express as a top Pride Month read. [11] The Hindu described it as “lucidly written,” [12] and Hindustan Times noted that it “presents the stories of 19 queer people who have done their bit to bring about positive change in society.” [13]
He has spoken at various literary festivals, including the Hyderabad Literary Festival and New Delhi's Rainbow Lit Fest, one of India's largest LGBT literary festivals. [14] [15] Aditya actively engages in advocacy for the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. [16] [17] His work has appeared in several national and international publications including The Times of India, Hindustan Times, PinkNews, and The Telegraph. [18] [19] [20] [21]
In 2022, he produced and hosted a six-part radio series on the BBC, focusing on men’s mental health and featuring conversations with contributors from diverse backgrounds. [22] Several media outlets reported that, with this programme, he became the first openly queer Indian to host a podcast for the BBC, engaging themes of race, sexuality, identity, and mental wellbeing. [6]
He later served as a producer at BBC Radio Cambridgeshire in 2024, [23] [24] and in 2025 was one of twelve journalists from India and Germany selected to participate in an Indo-German journalists' exchange programme organised by the Goethe-Institut in partnership with Deutsche Welle (DW) and other collaborators, aimed at rebuilding trust in the media. [25] The programme resulted in the publication of a handbook addressing key challenges facing journalism in Germany and India. [26]