| rdfs:comment | - Los Angeles-based writer Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla was born in Mombasa, Kenya. At 13 years old, the aspiring young novelist published his first article on infertility in a national magazine VIVA. Since then he's written for various publications including Genre, Angeleno, Detour and Details and publishes the upscale lifestyle E-zine IndulgeMagazine.com Ode to Lata was optioned for a motion picture The Ode starring Sachin Bhatt, Wilson Cruz, and Sakina Jaffrey. Dhalla wrote the screenplay and is the Associate Producer for the film.
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| abstract | - Los Angeles-based writer Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla was born in Mombasa, Kenya. At 13 years old, the aspiring young novelist published his first article on infertility in a national magazine VIVA. Since then he's written for various publications including Genre, Angeleno, Detour and Details and publishes the upscale lifestyle E-zine IndulgeMagazine.com An excerpt from Ode to Lata was featured in the award-winning anthology Contours of the Heart: South Asians Map North America (Rutgers), which went on to win the 18th Annual American Book Award. The Los Angeles Times Book Review hailed Dhalla's debut "an accomplishment" and Christopher Rice called it "a rare, great novel." Ode to Lata created milestones as the first South Asian gay novel ever to be reviewed by The Los Angeles Times and to be excerpted by Genre (magazine). It was also the first account of the South Asian gay experience from an author from the African continent. The cultural and academic impact of Dhalla's debut novel was further recognized when it was presented at the Between The Lines Festival at MIT (Boston) in 2004, and added to college syllabuses around the country like California State University. Ode to Lata was optioned for a motion picture The Ode starring Sachin Bhatt, Wilson Cruz, and Sakina Jaffrey. Dhalla wrote the screenplay and is the Associate Producer for the film. Some of his influences are Dorothy Parker, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and the poetry of Rumi. East Indian in heritage and a passionate activist, Dhalla co-founded the South Asian program for AIDS intervention for the Asian Pacific Aids Intervention Team in L.A. In June 2007, Dhalla was listed as one of the Top 21 Tastemakers and “Most Important Movers and Shakers” in America by Genre Magazine. In August 2007, Dhalla was listed as one of the "Top 25 People Who Make Us Melt - Angelenos Who Redefine What's Hot" by Frontiers Magazine.
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