| Kumar Nagarkoti | |
| Native Name: | कुमार नगरकोटी |
| Native Name Lang: | ne |
| Other Names: | Nagarkoti |
| Birth Date: | 2 December 1974 |
| Birth Place: | Lalitpur, Nepal |
| Nationality: | Nepali |
| Occupation: | Writer, poet, columnist |
| Notable Works: | Ghatmandu, Kalpa-Grantha, Mistika |
| Style: | Surrealism, Magical realism |
| Spouse: | Sabitri Karki |
| Children: | 1 |
Kumar Nagarkoti (; born 1974) is a Nepali writer, poet, and columnist.[1] He is one of the most popular contemporary Nepali writer. He has published multiple books and is known for his use of surrealiastic style in his works.[2]
He was born on 2 December 1974 (17 Mangsir 2031 BS) in Lalitpur, Nepal.[3]
He began his literary career in 1999 with an English poem titled Sorry Buddha, I Cannot Follow You.[4] He published his first story, Nikash at the age of 21. The story was published in Sahakalam Sahitya, a literary paper that only printed works of established writers.[2]
His first book, Mokshanta: Kathmandu Fever, a collection of short stories was published in 2011.[5] His second short story collection, Fossil was published in 2013.[5] He published a memoir titled Aksharganj in 2014. The memoir has 30 essays and contains various magical realism elements.[6] In 2015, he wrote a play called Coma—A Political Sex. It was staged in Shilpee theatre and was directed by Yubraj Ghimire. The play is about a writer who goes into a coma while writing his book, because the constitution is not drafted on time.[7]
His first novel, Mistika was published on 20 August 2015.[8] On 2 October 2016, he published a collection of his fiction and non-fiction writings titled Ghatmandu.[9] He published Docha, his memoir in 2017. The book was not written in first person narrative as with most memoir but used birds and inanimate objects as a narrator.[10]
In 2018, he made a cameo in Lal Purja, a Nepali film.[11] He also published Gya, a novel in the same year. He took 3 years to complete the book. The book was unveiled by Saguna Shah, a writer and founder of Bookaholics group, a Facebook readers group.[12] The novel was shortlisted for the prestigious Madan Puraskar for the same year.[13]
He wrote Bath-tub, a play in 2019. The play was staged in Shilpee theatre, directed by Yubaraj Ghimire and starred actor Neer Shah, writer Bhusita Vasistha and Brajesh.[14]
He published his tenth book, Kalpa-Grantha on 27 March 2021. The book consisted of 63 experimental tales including typographs, postcards, screen plays, etc. The book was only sold to the preorders in a limited edition release.[15] Many people criticise the hefty cost of the book and the limited release.[16] The book was also shortlisted for Madan Puraskar but lost to Limbuwanko Etihasik Dastavej Sangraha by Bhagi Raj Ingnam.[17] [18]
He is also a columnist at Shilapatra online news portal. He describes himself as a fiction designer rather than fiction writer.[19]
Books
| Mokshanta: Kathmandu Fever | Short stories | 2011 | Debut book | |
| Fossil | Short stories | 2013 | ||
| Aksharganj | Memoir | 2014 | ||
| Mistika | Novel | 20 August 2015 | ||
| Ghatmandu | Collection of fiction and non-fiction works | 2 October 2016 | ||
| Docha | Memoir | 2017 | ||
| Gya | Novel | 31 May 2018 | Shortlisted for Madan Puraskar 2075 BS | |
| Kalpa-Grantha | Collection of short stories | 27 March 2021 | Shortlisted for Madan Puraskar 2077 BS |
| Coma—A Political Sex | 2015 | Playwright | Yubaraj Ghimire | |
| Bath-tub | 2019 | Playwright | Yubaraj Ghimire |
| Lal Purja | 2018 | Actor | Sadhu (a mystic) | Nigam Shrestha |
He is married to Sabitri Karki. They currently reside in Balkumari, Lalitpur with their son (Grishmil Nagarkoti). [4]