Chief Editor & Contributing Editor (Telugu Literature)

Atreya Sarma U, hailing from Hyderabad, is a poet, freelance editor, book-reviewer, and translator. His poems and writings (articles, editorials, reviews, forewords, translations) mostly in English and a sprinkling in Telugu—have appeared in various print/online media and anthologies. Chief Editor of the Muse India e-journal (www.museindia.com) from Nov 2016 onward (with a sabbatical break from Jul-Aug 2022 issue to Nov-Dec 2024 issue), he was a freelance editor since Jan 1997. Joining the Muse India team in Nov 2009; he was Editor (Fiction) up to Issue 72 (Mar-Apr 2017); Editor (Book Reviews) up to Issue 104 (Jul-Aug 2022); and Editor of the News & Events column (up to Sep 2017) which has since been discontinued. He is also the Contributing Editor (Telugu Literature).

As Contributing Editor (Telugu Literature), he has so far presented five exhaustive features on Telugu Literature in Muse India.

His past editorship includes two print journals—Bharatiya Pragna monthly and Cyberhood weekly.

Atreya Sarma has a collection of English poems, Sunny Rain-n-Snow (Partridge 2016). It was among the three poetry collections shortlisted for the Cochin Litfest Poetry Prize 2019.

As a collaborator, he has composed in English the profiles of 132 modern Telugu Stalwarts for the bilingual book Marapuraani Maanikyaalu (2010) (with wordy & pictorial sketches in Telugu by BNIM, a noted writer & artist).

As a freelance editor, Atreya Sarma has edited 13 books: (1) Celebrating Creativity: HLF 2010 (An anthology of poems/ short stories by 76 writers); (2) Souvenir: HLF 2010; (3) Lung Care and Long Life by Dr Shyam Sunder Raj (2012); (4) Memoirs & Musings of an IAS Officer by KV Natarajan, IAS (Retd) (Menaka Prakashan, 2013); (5) Turquoise Tulips (a collection of short stories) by the USA-based Dr Ashok Patwari (Authors Press 2015); (6) Prolegomena and Transformative Articles on Literary Translation by Dr VVB Rama Rao (Authors Press, 2015); (7) Femininity: Poetic Endeavours (Authors Press, 2016); (8) ‘Oka prasthaanam’ (translated into Telugu by Varanasi Nagalakshmi of ‘A Journey’ a collection of poems rendered into English by Mantha Ravi from Narendra Modi’s Gujarati original) (however, after the sweat of editing, Nagalakshmi dropped the idea of publishing it); (9) Horror Scope (a collection of short stories) by Australia-based VP Gangadharan (Authors Press, 2019); (10) Poets Renowned and Poets Flourishing by Dr VVB Rama Rao (Authors Press, 2019); (11) Poster Boy & Other Stories by Dr Ashok Patwari (Locksley Hall Publishing LLP, May 2022); (12) A fictional autobiography by Gian Singh Shatir (however, after the entire hard work of its editing, the author hoodwinked the proposal and fleeced back the entire renumeration he paid, with no pricking of conscience); (13) Retreat and Other Short Stories by Dr Ashok Patwari (Austin Macauley Publishers LLC, 2019).

As a translator from Telugu to English, Atreya Sarma has translated many individual poems, short stories and articles besides 5 major books: (1) Salt of the Earth (2013)—translation of 16 short stories by a senior and prominent writer Dr Mallemala Venugopala Reddy. (2) Thousand Hoods (Viswanatha Sahitee Peetham, 2015/2018)—translation of Jnan Pith awardee Viswanatha Satyanarayana’s 36-chapter mega novel ‘Veyipadagalu’ (6 chapters, 9 to 14 by Atreya Sarma, as one of the 5-member panel). (3) Merciless Dark: The Mystery of the Eclipse Island (Vol. 1 of the multiple volume ‘Merciless Dark’) by Harisshva D V (White Falcon, 2019)—trans-creation of unpublished Telugu manuscript. (4) Dr V L Dutt: Glimpses of a Pioneer’s Life Journey (2021), reflections of Dr V L Indira Dutt, CMD of The KCP Ltd covering the life & work of her husband Dr V Lakshmana Dutt, a leading industrialist, transcribed (along with Ambika Ananth). (5) My Sublime Saviour (editing, adapting & trans-creating of the unpublished Telugu original manuscript of Dr Kampalle Ravichandran (who after the entire hard work, backtracked from publishing it).

Atreya Sarma had for over 5 years (Jun 2013 to Jul 2018) featured and encouraged poets through a weekly column ‘Wordsmith’ in The Hans India, a Hyderabad-based English daily.

He has guest-edited two Features—‘India @ 70’ for Setu magazine (Aug 2017); and ‘Animal Poetics’ for Teesta Review (May 2022).

He holds an MA (English Litt), a PG Dip (Mass Communications & Telugu Translation Techniques), a BA (English Litt, Sanskrit Litt, History) and BSc (Botany, Zoology, Chemistry), and CAIIB (Part I) with mid-level managerial experience in SBI.

He is on the Advisory Board of Teesta: An International Journal of Poetry; and was the official critic of Metverse Muse, an international journal of metrical poetry from Visakhapatnam until Sep 2019.

He has received six literary awards —‘Setu Award for Excellence 2017’; ‘Shambhabi Samman 2019’; International Sufi Centre (Bengaluru)for “Distinguished Contribution to Indian English Poetry” (2020); Setu Special Award for Excellence 2020; Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav for Literary Merit by the Department of Culture, Government of India (at its Hyderabad event on 03 Apr 2022); and ‘Padma Shri Asavadi Prakasa Rao Memorial Literary Award 2024’ (28 Jan 2024).

Interested in holistic fitness, Atreya Sarma has taken part in 21 marathons over the last 6 years, sixteen 10K, two 5K, one half-marathon (21K), one 16K, and one 10K bicycle ride.

Email: atreyasarma@gmail.com

(Updated, 02 Jun 2025)