In a literary landscape often dominated by familiar themes, a striking new voice is emerging from India’s North-East. Bishhal Paull, with his debut novel The Liar Among Us, is not only offering readers a thrilling story but also reshaping the possibilities of young adult (YA) storytelling in India. Set for release this Diwali by Bloomsbury, the book is already being celebrated as both a cultural milestone and a literary achievement.
The Writer Behind the Breakthrough
At just the beginning of his career, Paull has been hailed as a next-gen talent whose writing bridges the intimate and the epic. Born and raised in the North-East, he brings to his work a perspective that has long been missing from India’s YA shelves—a voice steeped in regional folklore yet universally resonant. His rise marks more than the arrival of a promising novelist; it signals the long-awaited inclusion of North-Eastern stories into the national mainstream.
Folklore as Foundation
While The Liar Among Us is framed as a tense campus thriller—set in Valorhouse International, a residential school in the Sikkim hills—Paull’s deeper achievement lies in his reimagining of Himalayan folklore for contemporary readers. The disappearance of a student unravels into an eerie web of rumours, ancient guardians, and spectral presences drawn from oral traditions rarely represented in Indian fiction.
In Paull’s hands, these stories are not simply cultural artefacts—they are living forces that shape memory, fear, and identity. His commitment to authenticity ensures that the folklore does not feel exoticised, but instead woven into the rhythm of modern adolescence.
Redefining Indian YA
For decades, Indian YA fiction has oscillated between urban realism and imported fantasy. Paull is forging a third path. His chapters move with the urgency of streaming thrillers—sharp, propulsive, and cinematic—yet beneath the suspense lies literary depth. Themes of truth, betrayal, and survival echo universally, even as the novel remains firmly rooted in the North-East’s cultural landscape.
This balance between accessibility and authenticity is precisely what distinguishes Paull. By embedding folklore into a contemporary thriller, he makes regional narratives not only visible but also irresistible to young readers across India.
The Cultural Significance
Paull’s debut is being seen as more than just a gripping read—it is part of a larger cultural intervention. For too long, North-Eastern voices have lingered at the margins of Indian publishing. With The Liar Among Us, Paull is helping to open a door for an entire body of untapped stories, demonstrating that narratives from the region can resonate nationally and globally without compromise.
The Road Ahead
Bishhal Paull’s emergence is not simply the story of one author’s debut. It represents a generational moment in Indian literature: the rise of a young writer unafraid to blend the mythical with the modern, the regional with the universal.
As his first book prepares to reach shelves this Diwali, the excitement surrounding The Liar Among Us is matched only by the anticipation of what Paull will do next. His voice—urgent, original, and deeply rooted—signals the beginning of a new chapter in Indian YA fiction.
The Liar Among Us confirms what early readers already know: Bishhal Paull is a writer to watch. His work entertains, unsettles, and expands the horizon of what Indian YA can be. With this debut, he establishes himself not just as an author, but as a cultural force.
The Liar Among Us by Bishhal Paull will be published by Bloomsbury this Diwali.
