Ritika Bali is a short story writer from Lucknow and a recent MFA graduate from Miami University. Her work has been featured in Mistake House, Kitaab, The Punch Magazine, and more. She is the winner of 2024 Literature Live! MyStory Contest (Jury's Pick) and a runner-up for the 2024 Ruskin Bond Literary Award and the 2024 Deodar Prize. Her novel-in-progress excerpt was shortlisted for the 2024 Sandra Carpenter Memorial Fund Writers Scholarship.