Nishant Batsha is the author of the novels A Bomb Placed Close to the Heart (ecco/HarperCollins, 2025) and Mother Ocean Father Nation (ecco/HarperCollins, 2022). He is currently at work on a third novel with support from The de Groot Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts. A Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow, Nishant holds a PhD in history from Columbia University. Originally from Northern California, he lives in Buffalo, NY with his family.