Mamang Dai

Mamang Dai (born 23 February 1957) is a poet, novelist and journalist based in Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, India. She received Sahitya Akademi Award in 2017 for her novel The Black Hill.

Early life and education Mamang Dai was born on 23 February 1957 at Pasighat, East Siang district, to Matin Dai and Odi Dai. Her family belongs to the Adi tribe. She completed her schooling from Pine Mount School, Shillong, Meghalaya. She completed her Bachelor in English literature from Gauhati University, Assam.

Career She was selected for the IAS in 1979, but later she left the post to pursue her career in journalism. She is the first woman from her state to be selected for IAS. While working as a journalist, she contributed to The Telegraph, Hindustan Times and The Sentinel. She has also worked in radio, as well as TV-AIR and DDK, Itanagar where she worked as an anchor and conducted interviews.

She was appointed programme officer at Worldwide Fund for Nature, known as WWF, where she worked in the Eastern Himalayas Biodiversity Hotspots programme. She was the former secretary of Itanagar Press Club. She was the president of Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUW).

Some of the positions that she has occupied include General Secretary of the Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society, member of the North East Writers’ Forum and General Council member of the Sahitya and Sangeet Natak Akademi. She received Sahitya Akademi Award in 2017 for her novel The Black Hill.