Anitha Devi Pillai is a Singapore-based writer, translator, and applied linguist. She is the author of eleven books spanning fiction, non-fiction, and translation. Her translation of the Tamil novel Sembawang (2020) was shortlisted for the Singapore History Prize (2021) and the Best Literary Work Prize (2021). Her short story ‘Lost in Translation’ was longlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize (2025). Anitha’s writing explores memory, identity, and intimacy, often through food, language, and the lives of women in Singapore. She teaches writing and applied linguistics at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
