Ishan Shanavas is the author and illustrator of the acclaimed The Light of Wilder Things, a captivating memoir of the author’s teenage years spent pursuing wildlife through the country’s scrub forests, rainforests, mangroves and coral reefs. Part memoir and part natural history narrative, the book weaves together field experiences with reflections on curiosity, risk, and the lessons nature offers about growing up.
Published in 2025, The Light of Wilder Things went on to become a bestseller, and has received widespread attention and rave reviews, with Shashi Tharoor calling it “a blazingly honest account of his passion, his sensitivity, and all his experiences in the wild…Ishan’s forays into the wild are narrated in a manner that is witty and engaging … usher[ing] us to turn towards Nature and learn from it.” Arati Kumar-Rao says, “If the next generation sees the natural world as Ishan does, there is hope yet.”
Ishan graduated summa cum laude from Ashoka University in 2025, where he studied entrepreneurship, environmental studies and sociology, interests that continue to shape both his writing and ventures. Alongside his writing, he is deeply interested in entrepreneurship and the process of building ventures rooted in curiosity, creativity and the natural world.
He is the founder of Eco-Inspire, an environmental education venture he founded to engage students and institutions across India in storytelling-driven conservation. The program has so far reached 28,000+ people across more than 100 institutions in over 25 cities and towns in India. A two-time TEDx speaker, Ishan has a strong following on social media, where he shares reflections on nature, conversations around conservation and ideas around creativity, entrepreneurship and the natural world.
His work has been featured extensively in leading national publications, and he is featured regularly as a speaker at several prominent literary festivals, cultural forums and educational institutions.
A Suitable Agency is representing The Light of Wilder Things as well as Ishan’s forthcoming works.