About Neil D'Silva | Neil D'Silva

Neil D’Silva is an Indian author, known for his works in the horror genre. Consistently listed among the top horror writers of India, he was named by UK’s DESIblitz magazine among the Top 7 Indian Horror Writers to be read.

Books

For a full list of Neil D’Silva’s published works, click here.

Neil became a popular name in the horror genre when his debut novel, Maya’s New Husband, became an Amazon India #1 hit in the horror genre immediately after its release in early 2015, and stayed in the top 10 for close to two years. The book was soon acquired for a screen production.

He followed the success with his 2017 release, Pishacha, and his collection of 13 stories in various horror subgenres, Right Behind You. Right Behind You was a critically acclaimed success, which reached the top 100 ranks on Amazon India for All Books.

He released two novels in 2019, both of which ranked at #1 on Amazon India horror like their predecessors. The first among these is Yakshini with Rupa Publications. Yakshini has been optioned for screen adaptation by a major production house. The second is a collaboration with noted Indian paranormal investigator Jay Alani and is titled Haunted. Haunted is released by Penguin Random House. It has been optioned for screen adaptation by yet another major production house.

2020 saw the release of The Spirits Talk to Me, co-authored with ace paranormal investigator, Sarbajeet Mohanty, the cofounder of Parapsychology and Investigations Research Society (PAIRS). This book was released by Hachette India in October 2020.

He also released the much-acclaimed Desi Horror Stories and What The Eyes Don’t See on Wattpad, to a huge response. What The Eyes Don’t See received 10K views on the first day of its release.

Neil is also the curator of an upcoming anthology with publishers Half Baked Beans, titled City of Screams. This is arguably India’s first themed horror anthology. The contributors are the winners of a nationwide contest organized by HBB, written to the theme of ‘urban horror’. Neil was a mentor and editor for the contributors as well.

He now has contracts with major publishing houses for 2020. He is working on another commissioned project with Rupa Publications.

He is also in the process of pitching his ambitious project, Sapna’s Bad Connection, a psychological horror-thriller, and working on completing Kalki’s Bundle of Joy, a reincarnation horror.

Screenwriting

Neil D’Silva has written the screenplay and English script for 300+ episodes of the YouTube show Funtime with Shiny and Sasha, a kids’ animation show. This show was the flagship show of a YouTube channel named KooKoo TV, which has now over 4 million subscribers. The show has been translated into several Indian and foreign languages, including Portuguese, Italian, German, and French.

He is also working on the screen adaptations of his books that have been acquired by a leading production house. He is also engaged in writing for several webseries and short movies at present.

Events and Workshops

Neil is regularly invited to conduct workshops, judge events, and give talks on literature conducted by various organizations. He is a panelist at reputed national litfests.

For the Author Community

Neil D’Silva has an ardent desire to give back to the author’s community of India, especially to new writers who are trying to make their presence felt. He contributes by spending time to mentor and guide them with advice so that they can find their footing.

He is the founder of For Writers By Authors, one of Facebook’s largest online communities for authors. The community has over 18K members now. It conducts meets, workshops, online events, and provides resources for budding authors.

He is the founder of the litfest Litventure which was started in 2015 and is now an annual interschool festival.

He also conducts workshops to help new authors to hone their craft, and learn more about writing, editing, publishing, and marketing their books.

He has also given a TEDx talk at TEDxTCET on The Art of Writing a Bestseller, which is available on YouTube.

Neil is now the President of the Indian Chapter of the Horror Writers Association. He wishes to leverage his position to promote horror literature in India and internationally.