# Bidisha

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**Bidisha Mamata**[3] (born 29 July 1978), known professionally as **Bidisha**, is a British TV broadcaster and [presenter](/source/Radio_personality) specialising in international affairs and human rights, political analysis, the arts, and culture. She is also a multimedia artist, making films and stills.

Bidisha began writing professionally for style magazines such as *[i-D](/source/I-D)*, *[Dazed and Confused](/source/Dazed_%26_Confused_(magazine))*, and the *[NME](/source/NME)*, at the age of 14, and published her first novel at 18.[4] She writes for *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)* and *[The Observer](/source/The_Observer)*[5] and works as a TV and radio critic and presenter for the [BBC](/source/BBC), [Sky News](/source/Sky_News), [ITN](/source/ITN), Channel 5 and [CNN](/source/CNN).

## Early life and education

Bidisha went to school at [Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls](/source/Haberdashers'_Aske's_School_for_Girls) in [Elstree](/source/Elstree), [Hertfordshire](/source/Hertfordshire).[1] In 1999, she graduated in English Language and Literature from [St Edmund Hall](/source/St_Edmund_Hall,_Oxford) at the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford).[2] She then studied at the [London School of Economics](/source/London_School_of_Economics), where she gained an MSc degree in Moral and Political Philosophy and Economic History.[citation needed]

## Writing

Bidisha began writing for arts magazines *[i-D](/source/I-D)*, *[Oyster](/source/Oyster_(magazine))*, *Volume*, *[Dazed and Confused](/source/Dazed_%26_Confused_(magazine))*, and the *[NME](/source/NME)* at 15, after launching a style fanzine at the age of 14, influenced by the [riot grrrl](/source/Riot_grrrl) subculture. In 1995, at the age of 16, Bidisha signed a £15,000 book deal with [HarperCollins](/source/HarperCollins). Her first novel, *Seahorses*, was published two years later, during her first year at university.[6] During this time she also had regular opinion columns in *[The Big Issue](/source/The_Big_Issue)* magazine, *[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)* and the Thursday edition of *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)* newspaper. Bidisha's second novel, the thriller *Too Fast to Live*, was published when she was 21. Her third book, *Venetian Masters* – a travel memoir – was published in February 2008.[7] She was a contributing editor of the women's literary magazine *Sibyl* and the style magazine *2nd Generation*, and has written for *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*, the *[Financial Times](/source/Financial_Times)*, *[Mslexia](/source/Mslexia)*, *[The Observer](/source/The_Observer)*, the *[New Statesman](/source/New_Statesman)*, and arts magazine *The List*.[8]

International affairs were the subject of *Venetian Masters* (2008), which focused on northern Italy, and *Beyond the Wall* (2012), a work of reportage. In 2013, she became a Fellow of the International Reporting Project run by [Johns Hopkins University](/source/Johns_Hopkins_University) in [Washington, DC](/source/Washington,_DC), and the [Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation](/source/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation). Her role is to focus on international health development issues as part of a global network of reporters.[9] Her fifth book, *Asylum and Exile: The Hidden Voices of London*, is based on her long term outreach work with asylum seekers and refugees.[10][11]

Bidisha was one of the judges for the 2009 [Orange Prize for Fiction](/source/Orange_Prize_for_Fiction), and was announced as one of the judges of the 2010 [John Llewellyn Rhys Prize](/source/John_Llewellyn_Rhys_Prize).[12] She is a patron of the [SI Leeds Literary Prize](/source/SI_Leeds_Literary_Prize) for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian women in the UK.[13][14] Bidisha is a trustee of the Booker Prize Foundation.[15]

## Broadcasting and film-making

In parallel with her writing, Bidisha has developed a career as a radio and TV arts critic and presenter.[16] She is a regular guest on *The Big Questions* and *Sunday Morning Live* ([BBC One](/source/BBC_One)), and also appeared as a regular panellist on *[Newsnight Review](/source/Newsnight_Review)* ([BBC Two](/source/BBC_Two)). For [BBC Radio 4](/source/BBC_Radio_4) she has contributed regularly to and presented *[Saturday Review](/source/Saturday_Review_(radio))*, *[Front Row](/source/Front_Row_(radio_programme))*, *[Archive on Four](/source/Archive_on_Four)*, *Heart and Soul* and *[Woman's Hour](/source/Woman's_Hour)*.[17] She was one of the regular presenters of [BBC Radio 3](/source/BBC_Radio_3)'s flagship arts programme, *[Night Waves](/source/Night_Waves)*.

On the [BBC World Service](/source/BBC_World_Service), she was a guest presenter of the books programme *[The Word](/source/The_Word_(radio))*, and was the regular presenter for *[The Strand](/source/The_Strand_(radio))*.[18] For BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4, she has presented documentaries on [Carl Jung](/source/Carl_Jung), [Iris Murdoch](/source/Iris_Murdoch),[19] the role of text in art (in *Texting Andy Warhol*) and *The Countertenor*.[20] On television, she presented BBC Four's Secret Life of Books series edition on *Jane Eyre*[21] and the *Archive on Four* documentary *Mustn't Grumble*, on complaining.[22]

In 2017, she directed the seven-minute solo project *An Impossible Poison*, which was commissioned by the arts organisation Speaking Volumes and premiered in [Berlin](/source/Berlin) in November 2017.[23] Her next visual project was a series of video shorts called the Aurora series, of which the first is *Aurora: All is Well*[24](October 2020).

## Films

- *[An Impossible Poison](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7607524/)*, short film, 2017
- *[Aurora](https://vimeo.com/467695931)* series,[24] six short films, 2020–2023

## Bibliography

- *Seahorses* (Flamingo, 1997), ISBN 0-00-655030-4
- *Too Fast to Live* (Duckworth Publishing, 2000), ISBN 0-7156-3008-3
- *Venetian Masters* (Summersdale Publishers, 2008), ISBN 1-84024-634-0
- *Beyond the Wall: Writing A Path Through Palestine* (Seagull, 2012), ISBN 978-0-8574-20398
- *Asylum and Exile: The Hidden Voices of London*[25] (Seagull, 2015), ISBN 978-0857422101
- *The Future of Serious Art* (Tortoise Media, 2020), ISBN 978-1800180093[26]

## References

1. ["Matriculations 1996"](https://issuu.com/stedmundhall/docs/st_edmund_hall_magazine_1996-97). *St Edmund Hall Magazine 1996-97*. St Edmund Hall, Oxford. 1997. p. 116. Retrieved 9 January 2025.

1. ["Degree Results"](https://issuu.com/stedmundhall/docs/st_edmund_hall_magazine_1998-99). *St Edmund Hall Magazine 1998-99*. St Edmund Hall, Oxford. 1999. p. 81. Retrieved 9 January 2025.

1. ["My Writing Life: Bidisha Mamata"](https://www.rlf.org.uk/posts/my-writing-life-bidisha-mamata/). The Royal Literary Fund. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

1. ["BBC Radio 3 biography"](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/presenters/bidisha.shtml). *BBC Radio 3*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090422221838/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/presenters/bidisha.shtml) 22 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine.

1. ["Bidisha Mamata"](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/bidisha). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 2022-12-01.

1. ["On the threshold"](http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=45828) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110610050641/http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=45828) 10 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, *[The Times Educational Supplement](/source/The_Times_Educational_Supplement)*, 21 March 1997. Retrieved 26 May 2010.

1. ["Venetian Masters: Under the Skin of the City of Love"](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Venetian-Masters-Under-Skin-City/dp/1840246340/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451916562&sr=8-1&keywords=Venetian+Masters) at Amazon.

1. Bidisha (15 July 2010). ["Bring me sunshine – Gilbert and George at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art"](http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/27105-bring-me-sunshine-gilbert-and-george-at-the-edinburgh-art-festival/). *The List*. Edinburgh Festival Guide.

1. [Fellows & Editors – International Reporting Project](http://internationalreportingproject.org/fellows-editors/)

1. Mehvish Arshad, ["Bidisha calls for greater understanding of the lives of asylum seekers"](http://asiahouse.org/bidisha-calls-greater-understanding-lives-asylum-seekers/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150206231121/http://asiahouse.org/bidisha-calls-greater-understanding-lives-asylum-seekers/) 6 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Asia House, 26 January 2015.

1. ["Asylum and Exile: The Hidden Voices of London"](https://freewordcentre.com/events/detail/asylum-and-exile-the-hidden-voices-of-london) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150206223718/https://freewordcentre.com/events/detail/asylum-and-exile-the-hidden-voices-of-london) 6 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, FreeWord.

1. ["Book Trade Announcements – Judges Announced For The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 2010"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120322214840/http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/28067). *booktrade.info*. 2 July 2010. Archived from [the original](http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/28067) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.

1. [Patrons](http://sileedsliteraryprize.wordpress.com/patrons/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141113195227/http://sileedsliteraryprize.wordpress.com/patrons/) 13 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, SI Leeds Literary Prize.

1. Bidisha (27 February 2014), ["'This is an issue at every level of publishing.' The SI Leeds Literary Prize tackles race, sex, diversity and literary fiction"](http://bidisha-online.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/this-is-issue-at-every-level-of.html), *Bidisha _online*.

1. ["Man Booker Prize announces global expansion"](http://www.themanbookerprize.com/press-releases/man-booker-prize-announces-global-expansion) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20141216144523/http://www.themanbookerprize.com/press-releases/man-booker-prize-announces-global-expansion) 16 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Man Booker Prize, 18 September 2013.

1. Feay, Suzi (2 March 2008). ["The comeback kid: Whatever happened to feisty, mono-monikered teenage author Bidisha?"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-comeback-kid-whatever-happened-to-fiesty-monomonikered-teenage-author-bidisha-789126.html). *The Independent*. Retrieved 25 July 2010.

1. ["Woman's Hour 26-07-2010" BBC.CO.UK](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t3t92), Radio 4. Retrieved 25 July 2010.

1. ["Bidisha" BBC Profile 28 April 2006](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/review/4953758.stm) 26 July 2010

1. ["An Unofficial Iris"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00l953t), BBC Radio 4 – *Archive on 4*, 1 June 2014.

1. [*The Countertenor*](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017cjmg), BBC Radio 4, 24 November 2011.

1. ["The Secret Life of Books"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p025zl7d), BBC Radio 4.

1. ["Mustn't Grumble: The Noble British Art of Complaining"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04y6mw8), *Archive on 4*.

1. ["Breaking Ground: Celebrating Writers of Colour"](https://speaking-volumes.org.uk/2017/03/07/breaking-ground-celebrating-writers-of-colour/). *Speaking Volumes*. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

1. Bidisha (2020-10-13), ["Aurora: All is Well"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13284122/?ref_=login) (Short), retrieved 2020-11-02

1. ["Asylum and Exile"](http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/A/bo19118168.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150128114002/http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/A/bo19118168.html) 28 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, University of Chicago Press.

1. Bidisha (12 November 2020). [*Futures*](https://unbound.com/books/futures/). ISBN 9781800180093.

## External links

- [Official website](https://bidisha-online.blogspot.com/)
- [Column archive](https://unherd.com/author/bidisha/) at *[UnHerd](/source/UnHerd)*
- [Column archive](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/bidisha/) at the *[HuffPost](/source/HuffPost)*
- [Column archive](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/bidisha) at *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*
- [Column archive](https://www.newstatesman.com/writers/316915) at the *[New Statesman](/source/New_Statesman)*

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bidisha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidisha) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidisha?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.