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Ajit George

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Ajit George is an Indian-American tabletop role-playing game writer and nonprofit residential school director.

Ajit A. George
Occupation(s)Chief Operating Officer, Shanti Bhavan Children's Project; games writer
SpouseWhitney "Strix" Beltrán
Websiteajitageorge.com

George is known in the gaming industry for his role as co-lead designer/author (with F. Wesley Schneider) of the Dungeons & Dragons adventure anthology Journeys through the Radiant Citadel (2022)[1][2][3][4] which was nominated for the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Game Writing,[5] the 2023 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming,[6] and 2023 ENNIE Awards for Best Adventure and Best Product.[7] In 2022, George was awarded the Diana Jones Award, an annual award for "Excellence in Gaming."[8][9]

George is the Chief Operating Officer of Shanti Bhavan Children's Project based in Bangalore, India. The school, which was the focus of the 2017 Netflix documentary series Daughters of Destiny: The Journey of Shanti Bhavan, provides free education to socially disadvantaged children from the age of four until they graduate from college.[10][11][12]

Early years

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George, the oldest son of Mariam and Abraham M. George, grew up in New Jersey, United States.[13] The family was well-off and George attended good schools.[14] George felt isolated at school, and used role-playing games to help him, saying, "as a brown kid growing up in a deeply white set of schools and communities, I felt alienated constantly and really, really had a hard time with it. It was very, very painful for me growing up. And role playing games were one of the few refuges along with books that I could find that gave me my own space and my own voice and to experiment."[15]

Career

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Shanti Bhavan Children's Project

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When George was 22, his father Abraham decided to return to India to create a residential school for children of the Dalit caste, India's poorest caste.[14]

In 2008, George became the Director of Operations for Shanti Bhavan Children's Project. He was brought onto the team in response to the 2008 financial crisis to help Shanti Bhavan deal with its own financial crisis. George changed the financial structure of the organization, taking it from being funded privately to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It is now supported by individual donations, corporate and nongovernmental organization (NGO) partnerships, and grants.[16][17]

In January 2024, George became the Chief Operating Officer for Shanti Bhavan.[18] He oversees all domestic and international fundraising, volunteer and teacher recruitment, media relations, strategic partnerships, and the mentorship program at Shanti Bhavan Children's Project.[13][19]

George is a board member of the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, a postgraduate school of journalism and media, founded in 2001 and based in Bangalore, India.[20]

Writing and game design

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George returned to the world of role-playing games, and found that little had changed in the field since his childhood, with almost no creative representation by people of color.[15] After working as a contributing writer on Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (2021),[21][3][22] George approached several publishing companies about increasing creative diversity. George and F. Wesley Schneider became co-lead designers and writers for Journeys through the Radiant Citadel (2022),[23][18] the first official "anthology of D&D adventures to be written entirely by Black and brown authors" published by Wizards of the Coast, including an adventure by Mimi Mondal.[1][24] The committee of the Diana Jones Award in 2022 highlighted that George "has been the first writer of Indian origin to write Indian-inspired material for a number of games, including Dungeons & Dragon's Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft".[25] Journeys through the Radiant Citadel was nominated for the 2023 Nebula Award for Best Game Writing,[5] the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming,[6] and ENNIE Awards for Best Adventure and Best Product.[7]

George has also written for a variety of indie game companies including Bully Pulpit,[26] Thorny Games,[27][28] and Monte Cook Games.[29]

Along with being a writer, George is a diversity consultant, speaker, and activist in the gaming community.[30] In 2016, George helped Gen Con expand its Industry Insider Speakers program.[31] In 2019, he created a POC training and mentorship program that connects game industry experts with POC professionals new to the industry. George also organized and led the first POC networking event at Big Bad Con in 2019.[32]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2021 Diana Jones Award — Nominated [33]
2022 Diana Jones Award — Won [25]
2023 Nebula Award Best Game Writing Journeys through the Radiant Citadel Nominated [5]
2023 Diana Jones Award Journeys through the Radiant Citadel Nominated [6]
2023 ENNIE Awards Best Adventure Journeys through the Radiant Citadel Nominated [7]
2023 ENNIE Awards Best Product Journeys through the Radiant Citadel Nominated [7]

Media

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References

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  1. ^ a b Hall, Charlie (2022-03-22). "Dungeons & Dragons' next anthology is written entirely by Black and brown authors". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  2. ^ "The Next D&D Adventure Book is a Vibrant, Personal Multicultural Anthology". Gizmodo. March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Dungeons & Dragons Announces Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel Anthology". CBR. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  4. ^ Lopez, Rachel (2022-07-23). "Rivers, swamps, Bengal: Why does a new D&D adventure feels so familiar?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  5. ^ a b c Farrell, Rebecca Gomez (March 7, 2023). "SFWA Names the 58th Nebula Award Finalists". Nebula Award (Press release). Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "The 2023 Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming". The Diana Jones Award. 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  7. ^ a b c d "2023 Nominations". ENNIE Awards. 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  8. ^ Carter, Chase (2023-06-21). "Root creator Cole Wehrle, indigenous RPG Coyote & Crow among finalists for 2023 Diana Jones Award". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  9. ^ Dohm-Sanchez, Jeffrey (2022-08-04). "'D&D' Author Ajit George Wins the Diana Jones Award". ICv2. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  10. ^ "In lieu of accepting inheritance, man launches school for impoverished Indian children". NPR: KNKX Public Radio. 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  11. ^ "Review: ‘Daughters of Destiny’ on Netflix Explores Caste Struggles in India", by Mike Hale, The New York Times, July 28, 2017. [Consulted 2 August 2018].
  12. ^ Marotta, Jenna (2017-07-27). "In a New Netflix Series, Educating the "Untouchables" and Breaking the Cycle of Unimaginable Poverty". Vogue. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  13. ^ a b Voelker, Jessica (October 18, 2017). "Ajit George, The Good Son". Seattle Met. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Voelker, Jessica (November 2017). "Ajit George, the Good Son". Seattle Met. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  15. ^ a b Mohanraj, Mary Anne (2019). "SFL Portolan Project: Interview with Ajit George and S.B. Divya" (PDF). Speculative Literature. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  16. ^ "The History of Shanti Bhavan | Shanti Bhavan Children's Project". Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  17. ^ Thiagarajan, Kamala (2021-11-06). "These 4 college freshmen from India have a remarkable story to tell". NPR. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  18. ^ a b Culver, Jordan (July 20, 2022). "'Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel': 16 writers, all people of color, shape new Dungeons & Dragons book". USA Today. Retrieved July 20, 2022. After working on other projects, George met with D&D senior designer F. Wesley Schneider. George, also the Chief Operating Officer of the nonprofit Shanti Bhavan Children's Project, was given the chance to work on another D&D product, he said, and during that time, he thought about what would eventually become 'Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel.'
  19. ^ George, Ajit (June 15, 2022). "Ajit A. George". Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  20. ^ "Shanti Bhavan Children's Project: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Education". Asia Society. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  21. ^ Dungeons and Dragons (June 15, 2022). "Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft". Dungeons and Dragons. Archived from the original on February 23, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  22. ^ George, Ajit (November 18, 2021). "Ajit George: The Beautiful Challenge of Bringing India to D&D's Ravenloft". Terribleminds. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  23. ^ Dungeons and Dragons (June 15, 2022). "Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel". Dungeons and Dragons. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  24. ^ Higgins, David M. (September 24, 2022). "A Fierce, Fragile Utopia: A Conversation with Ajit A. George". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  25. ^ a b "The 2022 Award". The Diana Jones Award. 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  26. ^ "The Warren by Bully Pulpit Games -- Kickstarter." March 18, 2016. Kickstarter. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  27. ^ "Dialect: A Game About Language and How It Dies by Thorny Games -- Kickstarter." Kickstarter. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  28. ^ "Dialect: A Game About Language and How It Dies". Thorny Games. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  29. ^ "Your Best Game Ever". Monte Cook Games. June 21, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  30. ^ George, Ajit (August 13, 2014). "Gaming's Race Problem: GenCon and Beyond". Tor.com. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  31. ^ "The Diana Jones Award: For Excellence in Gaming". The Diana Jones Award. June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  32. ^ "The 2021 Award". The Diana Jones Award. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  33. ^ "The 2021 Award". The Diana Jones Award. 2021-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  34. ^ "Watch Daughters of Destiny | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  35. ^ Marotta, Jenna (2017-07-27). "In a New Netflix Series, Educating the "Untouchables" and Breaking the Cycle of Unimaginable Poverty". Vogue. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  36. ^ Hale, Mike (2017-07-28). "Review: 'Daughters of Destiny' on Netflix Explores Caste Struggles in India". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  37. ^ TEDxTalks (March 21, 2021). "From untouchable to unstoppable: Ajit George at TEDxUNC". YouTube. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  38. ^ TEDxTalks (May 13, 2016). "Dignity | Ajit George | TEDxCollegeofWilliam&Mary". YouTube. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  39. ^ George, Ajit (June 13, 2019). "Writing Games to Test the Waters of My Identity". Tor.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
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