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Laila Alex is an acknowledged immigrant writer residing in Philadelphia USA. Before immigrating to the US with her family she worked as a Lecturer in English in St Thomas College, Kozhencheri, Kerala. She has published extensively in both Malayalam and English and has two anthologies of Malayalam short stories to her credit: Kadal Kadannethiya Kadhakal (The Stories from Beyond the Sea) and Lilith, a collection of short stories.

Born on August 10, 1977 at Thrippunithura, Kerala, Lathalakshmi did her postgraduation in Malayalam at MG University. Many of her stories have been translated into other languages. She represented Malayalam at writers' meets organised by the Sahitya Akademi in Delhi, Guwahati and Hyderabad besides presenting stories on platforms in Kerala and outside. Tirumugal Begum is Lathalakshmi's first novel. She has published four collections of short stories such as Silica, Toolikanamam Radha (Penname: Radha), etc. and the fifth one, Chemparaiti (Hibiscus) is in print. Lathalakshmi composed a monograph on Hydcrali, the famed Kathakali singer for the Kerala Institute of languages. Her short story collection, Silica won the V.T. Memorial Trust Award (2012) Ankanam Award (2013) and Special Jury Prize by Kathapeetham. She has also won the Ashan Literary Prize, the Vailoppilly Centenary Award, the Kedamangalam Sadanandan Literary Award and the State Award of Teachers' Art and Literary Association of Kerala. Recognised for her lyrical style and originality of expression, Lathalakshmi has been teaching at BharatiyaVidya Bhavan for the last 19 years.