Gurnaik Johal is a writer from West London. He was shortlisted for The Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize in 2018 and graduated from The University of Manchester in 2019.
Johal’s short story collection, We Move, published by Serpent’s Tail, was the Winner of the 2023 Somerset Maugham Award, Winner of the Tata Literature Live! First Book Award, a Guardian Book of the Year and a Hindustan Times Book of the Year. Its opening story also won the Galley Beggar Short Story Prize.
His debut novel, Saraswati, published in 2025 by Serpent’s Tail, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. Johal was also named an Observer Best New Novelist for 2025.
