Aftab Yusuf Shaikh

Abu Ibrahim Mohammed Aftab Yusuf Shaikh (17th November 1989) 
​Shaikh is an Indian author whose works fall into a wide range of genres. He started writing at the age of eight and has since written over two hundred poems. He writes in English, Urdu and Hindi. 
His poems have been featured in international publications like Muse India, The Istanbul Literary Review, The Barefoot Review, The Enchanting Verse Literary Review, Emerge Literary Review, Time Vision, Time Mastermind, Kritya Poetry Journal, Frogpond: The Journal of the Haiku Society of America, Shot Glass Journal, etc. 
His work has been featured alongside the biggest names in Arab poetry like Adonis and Mahmud Darwish; and Indian names like Arundhathi Subramaniam, Gopikrishnan Kottoor, K. Satchidanandan, Jayanta Mahapatra  and Anita Nair. His poems have also been published in several anthologies such as Overplay/Underdone (Medusa's Laugh Press, 2013), Before There Is Nowhere To Stand: Palestine Israel Poets Respond To the Struggle (Lost Horse Press, 2012), Malala: Poems For Malala Yousafzai (FutureCycle Press, 2013), World Peace E-Anthology (World Poetry Forum, 2013), The Dance Of The Peacock (Hidden Brook Press, 2014), etc.
He was shortlisted for the International Capoliveri Haiku Prize 2013 by the Capoliveri Commune, Italy; nominated for the Poem of the Year Award 2016 instituted by SalisOnline Magazine and shortlisted twice for the WordWeavers Short Story Prize in 2018 and 2019. He was awarded the 'Poiesis Award for Excellence in Literature' in 2020.  
His first novel 'The Library Girl' was published in 2017 for which he was adjudged the Ne8x Author of the Year 2019. In 2019, The Karadi Tales Company, Chennai, published his first picture book for children titled 'Letters To Ammi' as a part of their Cities Series. The book was shortlisted for the Neev Book Award 2020, adjudged one of the 14 Great Children's Books on Religious Tolerance and Interfaith Harmony by HuffPost India. 
He was awarded the Sahitkyakosh Samman 2021 for his debut poetry collection Tehzeeb Talkies. He was also among the awardees for the Voice of Indian Literature 2022 Honour.
His second picture book for children Ilham's Birthday, published in 2024 by Tulika Books was shortlisted for the Room To Read Children's Book Creator Award 2025 and longlisted for the Jarul Book Awards 2025.