Kumar Nagarkoti (; born 1974) is a Nepali writer, poet, dramatist, and columnist. His stories are known for their surrealistic elements and eccentric style that often mixes Nepali, English, Hindi, Nepal Bhasa, and other languages.
Biography Nagarkoti was born on 2 December 1974 (17 Mangsir 2031 BS) in Lalitpur, Nepal.
He began his literary career in 1999 with an English poem titled Sorry Buddha, I Cannot Follow You. He published his first story, Nikas, at the age of 21. The story was published in Sahakalam Sahitya, a literary paper that only printed works of established writers.
Nagarkoti's first book, Mokshanta: Kathmandu Fever, a collection of short stories, was published in 2011 by Ratna Pustak Bhandar. His second short story collection, Fossil, was published in 2013 by Nepalaya. Fossil won the 2013 Barsha Pustak (Book of the Year) award, awarded by the National Booksellers and Publishers Association of Nepal.
Nagarkoti next published a memoir titled Aksharganj in 2014. The memoir contained 30 essays with various magical realism and surrealistic elements. In 2015, he wrote a play called Coma - A Political Sex, which was staged at Shilpee Theatre and directed by the playwright Ghimire Yubaraj. The play is about a writer who goes into a coma while writing his book, because the constitution is not drafted on time.
His first novel, Mistika was published on 20 August 2015. In 2016, he published a collection of fiction and non-fiction writing titled Ghatmandu, which was shortlisted for the Padmashree Sahitya Puraskar.
A second memoir, Docha, was published in 2017. The book was not written in first person narrative as with most memoir but used animals, birds, and inanimate objects as narrators.
In 2018, he made a cameo in the Nepali film Lal Purja. The same year, he also published Gya, a novel, which was shortlisted for the prestigious Madan Puraskar the same year.
In 2019, his second play, Bathtub, was staged at Shilpee Theatre, once again directed by Ghimire Yubaraj. The play starred veteran actor Neer Shah and writers Brajesh Khanal and Bhushita Vasistha.
In 2021, published his tenth book, Kalpa-Grantha. The book is an example of ergodic literature consisting of 63 experimental tales including typographs, postcards, screen plays, etc. The book was produced by Book Hill Publications and only sold to preorders as a limited edition release. A first for Nepali literature and Nepali publication, the book was criticised for its cost and limited release. The book was also shortlisted for Madan Puraskar but lost to Limbuwanko Etihasik Dastavej Sangraha by Bhagi Raj Ingnam.
In 2023, Nagarkoti published Jogiyana, another memoir. Jogiyana was shortlisted for the Padmashree Sahitya Puraskar 2080.
Nagarkoti is also a prolific poet who regularly performs his own poetry.
He describes himself as a "fiction designer" rather than a fiction writer.
Notable works Books +TitleGenrePublication datePublisherNoteMokshanta: Kathmandu FeverShort stories2011Ratna Pustak Bhandari (first edition); Book Hill PublicationsDebut bookFossilShort stories2013Nepalaya Publication (first edition), subsequently Book Hill PublicationsWinner of Barsha Pustak Award 2013AksharganjMemoir2014Book Hill PublicationsMistikaNovel2015Book Hill PublicationsGhatmanduCollected works2016Book Hill PublicationsDochaMemoir2017Book Hill PublicationsGyaNovel2018Book Hill PublicationsShortlisted for Madan Puraskar 2075 BSKalpa-GranthaShort stories; ergodic literature2021Book Hill PublicationsShortlisted for Madan Puraskar 2077 BSJogiyanaMemoir2023Book Hill PublicationsShortlisted for Padmashree Sahitya Puraskar 2080 BS Plays +TitlePublication dateRoleDirectorComa - A Political Sex2015PlaywrightGhimire YubarajBath-tub2019PlaywrightGhimire Yubaraj Films +TitleRelease dateRoleCharacterDirectorLal Purja2018ActorSadhu (a mystic)Nigam Shrestha
Personal life Nagarkoti is married to Sabitri Karki. They currently reside in Balkumari, Lalitpur with their son Grishmil Nagarkoti.
See also Nayan Raj Pandey Buddhisagar Saru Bhakta
References