Salil Desai is the author of the much-acclaimed Inspector Saralkar Mystery Series, that includes - The Kid Killer (2023), Murder Milestone (2020), 3 and a Half Murders (2017), The Murder of Sonia Raikkonen (2015) and Killing Ashish Karve (2014). The books are currently being adapted into a web series by Jio Studios.

Titled 'Kalsutra', the first season of the web-series is based on 'Murder Milestone' and is due for release in 2025. Salil is also the lead writer of the screenplay of 'Kalsutra'.

Salil’s other popular books are Murder on a Side Street (2011), Lost Libido and Other Gulp Fiction (2012), as well as The Sane Psychopath (2018). Salil's short story 'Sound Motive' has also appeared in The Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction (2024), while other short fiction has been published in anthologies by Penguin, Westland and Unisun.

His latest novel ‘The Grudges of Gajanan Godbole’, a wacky crime thriller, has just been published by Hachette India in November 2024.

His short story ‘The Perfect Day’ and novel ‘The Sane Psychopath’ are also in the process of being adapted for screen as feature films.

Salil’s books have been reviewed in The Hindu, New Indian Express, The Pioneer, Bangalore Mirror, DNA, First City, The Tribune, among others. His work has been praised by veteran authors Dr Shashi Tharoor, Shobhaa De and film-makers Sriram Raghavan and Sujoy Ghosh.

An alumnus of Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Salil also conducts intensive workshops in creative fiction writing, story and scenario design, screenplay writing and film-making at leading liberal arts institutions and media & communication colleges across India.

He is a seasoned newspaper columnist, with over 400 articles, op-ed pieces, features and travelogues in leading dailies like The Times of India, Indian Express, DNA, The Tribune, Reader’s Digest, Deccan Herald, The Hindu etc.

Salil was one of the four international authors worldwide selected for the HALD International Writers’ Residency in Denmark, hosted by the Danish Centre for Writers & Translators in June 2016. He was also invited to Gullkistan Centre for Creativity, Iceland and spent the month of May 2023 there as a Resident.

Know more about him at www.salildesai.com