About

Ameer Shahul

Investigative author. Previously a reporter with Reuters, AFP and the Press Trust of India, and a Greenpeace campaigner.

The short version

Use this for programmes and introductions.

Ameer Shahul is an investigative author whose work sits at the intersection of health, environment and technology. His debut, Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal (Pan Macmillan, 2023), won the Green Literature Festival Book of the Year award in 2024 and was longlisted for the Tata Literature Live! Best Non-Fiction First Book in 2023. His second book, Vaccine Nation: How Immunisation Shaped India (Pan Macmillan, 2025), traces two centuries of vaccine research and vaccination in India. The Silent Syndicate (Hachette, 2026) examines the shifting ownership of India’s healthcare system, and Liquid Empire (HarperCollins, 2027) follows.

The long version

1990s – 2002

Began in journalism as a science correspondent with the Press Trust of India in Bengaluru, later reporting for Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Covered science, environment and industry.

2002 onwards

Campaigned with Greenpeace on mercury pollution in Kodaikanal, ship-breaking and hazardous waste on Indian shores, and groundwater extraction in Kerala. In 2003, worked with ex-workers and public-interest groups to force the removal of 290 tonnes of mercury waste from the Kodaikanal site for permanent retirement in the United States.

Corporate & public policy

Led public affairs and policy work at global corporations including IBM and Nissan Motors, focusing on emerging technology, healthcare, green policy and intellectual property. Advised global and Indian healthcare organisations through the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 onwards

Writing full time. Divides his time between Bangalore and the foothills of the Periya forest ranges in Wayanad, Kerala, where he works on ecologically sustainable community projects.

Education

MBA

Steinbeis-Hochschule Berlin

MSc

Cochin University of Science and Technology

BSc

St John’s College, Anchal, University of Kerala

Press kit

Bios at three lengths, high-resolution photographs, book covers and jacket copy.