“The Only City: Bombay in Eighteen Stories” is a book edited by novelist and journalist Anindita Ghose. It will be published by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins. The book is a hardback, 352 pages long, and will be released on October 24, 2025.
About the book
Financial capital, cradle of Bollywood, home to India’s largest slum—Bombay is a megalopolis with
many associations. But the one that’s especially significant is this: it is a place of stories. The Only
City is a collection of eighteen new pieces of short fiction that capture the pulse of this always
morphing urban centre.
Edited by novelist and journalist Anindita Ghose, it features some of the best names in Indian
fiction—both emerging and established. This extraordinary anthology frames the city through a
range of vantage points. The contributors include Prayaag Akbar, Diksha Basu, Dharini
Bhaskar, Namita Devidayal, Anindita Ghose, Shanta Gokhale, Ranjit Hoskote, Manu
Joseph, Raghu Karnad, Kersi Khambatta, Amrita Mahale, Yogesh Maitreya, Prathyush
Parasuraman, Lindsay Pereira, Tejaswini Apte-Rahm, Jairaj Singh, Shubhangi Swarup, and
Jeet Thayil.
From the urchin lurking by Grant Road’s railway overbridge to the screenwriter prowling the dance
bars in Andheri; from the gay man cruising in a Dadar local to the artist hovering by a studio across
the Danda shore; from immigrant nurses and couples in love to runaway teenagers—every character
carries a critical Bombay fragment.
Bombay is the only city that can grant them dimension. The story is a vivid fragment of urban life, complemented by photographs by Chirodeep Chaudhuri. Threads of climate fiction, romance, magic realism, humour, and speculation weave through, offering glimpses of a city that is sweaty, whimsical, dystopic, magical, and endlessly alive. The Only City is perhaps the finest mirror yet to the sole corner in India that has captivated residents and tourists, actors and stockbrokers—but especially, the writer.
Praise for ‘The Only City’
“If you’re longing to read one new work of fiction about Bombay, ‘The Only City’ is the only book you
Suketu Mehta
need to read. It gathers eighteen of the city’s best writers in a Queen’s Necklace of stories that celebrate
and castigate the city in all its dazzling complexity. For Bombayites spread out all over the world like
me, this marvellous anthology is the cheapest ticket home.”
“Lovers and hustlers, migrants and dreamers—each carries a piece of Bombay. Together, their voices
Sonia Faleiro
form a portrait of a city that is merciless, beautiful, and always alive.”
“The Only City showcases contemporary Mumbai at its best and worst, with Chirodeep Chaudhuri’s
Sooni Taraporevala
quiet photographs serving as a counterpoint to the hectic lives in the stories. A literary exploration of
Mumbai circa 2025 (with one fabulous futuristic tale), which will also serve as a historical record for
future generations.”
