Amitav Ghosh is an Indian writer, best known for his work in English fiction. He has won several awards for his books, including the Sahitya Akademi Award for The Shadow Lines and the Dan David Prize for Sea of Poppies. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. He was conferred the 54th Jnanpith award in December 2018, and is the first Indian writer in English to have been chosen for this honour.