Stephen Alter

Stephen Alter is the author of fifteen books of fiction and non-fiction, on topics that range from the Indian elephant to the sources of the Ganga. His published works include novels like "Renuka" (Penguin) and "The Phantom Isles" (Bloomsbury), and a recent account of his adventures in Hindi cinema, "Fantasies of a Bollywood Love Thief" (Harcourt/ HarperCollins). Alter was born in Mussoorie, India and continues to live there. His memoir "All the Way to Heaven" (Penguin) describes an American boyhood in the Himalayas. He has taught creative writing at the American University in Cairo and at MIT. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright Research Grant, Alter is currently Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Woodstock School. Stephen Alter is the founding director of the Mussoorie International Writers Festival.

Himalayan environment and culture Literature

Fiction writing