Bidisha: In-House Tutor at Chalet La Giettaz

Our in-house tutor is the writer, critic and broadcaster, Bidisha, who signed her first book deal with Harper Collins at the age of 16. Her novel, Seahorses was published to commercial and critical acclaim two years later and translated into several languages. In addition to publishing two further books, Too Fast to Live and the travel memoir Venetian Masters, Bidisha writes regularly for The Guardian, The New Statesman and The Observer and often appears on BBC Two's Newsnight Review, BBC Radio 4's Saturday Review and Front Row. She has had weekly columns in the The Independent and The Big Issue. In 2008 and 2009 she presented Radio 3's flagship arts programme, Night Waves and was also a presenter of the former World Service books programme The Word.

Bidisha now presents the World Service's flagship arts programme, The Strand, as well as various documentaries and series across BBC radio and TV, including Archive on Four and Heart and Soul.  She will also be guest presenting Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 this summer. Bidisha was a judge for the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction and will be judging the John Lewellyn Rhys Prize for Literature this year.

She has extensive experience as both a tutor and a guest of honour on writers’ retreats, making her the ideal person to offer support and guidance in writing, pitching, developing work and the business of publishing.