Draft:Shivya Nath
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Submission declined on 1 July 2026 by Thilsebatti (talk). This draft is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Wikipedia's verifiability policy requires that all content be supported by reliable sources.
Declined by Thilsebatti 35 days ago.
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Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Chrissy 1010 (talk) 14:16, 30 June 2026 (UTC)
Shivya Nath | |
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| Occupation | Travel writer Author |
Shivya Nath (born 1988) is an Indian travel writer, author, speaker, educator and environmentalist. She is the author of the national bestselling memoir The Shooting Star: A Girl, Her Backpack and the World (Penguin, 2018)..[1] and the travel memoir Rootless and Restless: A Woman's Search for Meaningful Adventure in Distant Places (Penguin, 2026)[2]. Her writing focuses on the intersection of sustainable travel, local communities and climate action[3].
Nath is a recipient of the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards (2023 - Silver[4], 2025 - Honorable mention[5]). She is represented by Writer’s Side for book and film rights through Kanishka Gupta.
Early life and education
[edit]Nath grew up in Dehradun, India[6]. She studied at St. Joseph's Academy before moving to Singapore, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Economics[7] from Singapore Management University. She later completed a master's degree in sustainability and environmental management from Harvard University's Division of Continuing Education, focusing her research on climate adaptation solutions in the tourism industry.
Career
[edit]Nath began her career in the tourism industry as a social media strategist at the Singapore Tourism Board[8]. She then quit her job and launched The Shooting Star in 2011 as a personal travel blog documenting solo travel[9]. The platform evolved to focus on slow travel, sustainable tourism and community-based tourism[10]. It has grown into one of India's longest-running travel blogs. Her freelance journalism has appeared in outlets including BBC Travel, National Geographic Traveller, The Washington Post, Lonely Planet, Condé Nast Traveller, Adventure.com and Travel + Leisure[11][12][13][14][15][16].
In 2019, The Washington Post featured Nath among travel writers shaping contemporary travel narratives, highlighting her focus on slow and sustainable travel practices[17]. National Geographic Traveller has also profiled her among voices contributing to more diverse representations of travel[18].
Nath has spoken on sustainable travel and climate action at international forums including COP30 Global Online Sessions on Climate Action in Tourism[19], the ASEAN–India Forum[20], the UNWTO Conference on Women in Tourism[21] and the World Community Tourism Summit[22]. She co-authored a white paper with Regenerative Travel and O'Shannon Burns examining case studies of climate adaptation across coastal, urban and mountain destinations, based on her master’s research at Harvard University[23].
Beyond writing, Nath produces short documentary films. Her series Routes of Resilience, which profiles women-led, eco-conscious tourism initiatives around the world, won the Social Impact Award at the 2025 Bessie Awards[24]. A film in the series, based on the first women-led trek in the Tirthan Valley, won the Broadcast of the Year award at the 2025 Inspire Global Media Awards in London[25].
Nath is also an educator, offering courses and workshops in impact-driven travel storytelling for both urban and rural audiences. She is a co-founder of Voices of Rural Indi, a nonprofit initiative creating digital storytelling opportunities for rural communities affected by the loss of tourism income during the COVID-19 pandemic[26]
Books
[edit]Nath's debut book, The Shooting Star: A Girl, Her Backpack and the World, was published by Penguin Random House India in 2018. The memoir recounts her transition from a corporate career to a nomadic life, drawing on experiences including living with an Indigenous Mayan community in Guatemala, hiking alone in the Ecuadorian Andes, and travelling through remote regions of India[1]. The book sold more than 10,000 copies within its first month of release, becoming a national bestseller in India[27], and has sold over 20,000 copies to date across multiple reprints.
Her second book, Rootless and Restless: A Woman's Search for Meaningful Adventure in Distant Places, was published by Penguin Random House India in 2026. The book chronicles her slow journeys to remote destinations including the Arctic, off-grid Indigenous communities in Myanmar, Robinson Crusoe Island off the coast of Chile and Uzbekistan, and recounts an episode in which she was caught up in a morality-police raid while travelling in Iran.[2]. The book received coverage in outlets such as India Today, Scroll.in, The Economic Times, Mint and the Deccan Chronicle[28][29][30][31], and was praised in a launch keynote by actor and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza[32]. As of June 2026, the book is being distributed exclusively within the Indian subcontinent[2]
Personal life
[edit]Nath is vegan, having adopted the lifestyle in 2015[33]. She has described her travel philosophy as slow and immersive, forging connections with local communities and nature[34]. She is vocal about issues like passport privilege[35] and climate conscious travel[36]
Awards
[edit]| Year | Class | Category | Awarding body | Work |
| 2025 | Winner | Social Impact Award | Bessie Awards (Wanderful) | Routes of Resilience |
| 2025 | Winner | Broadcast of the Year (Vlog) | Inspire Global Media Awards, London | Routes of Resilience |
| 2023 | Silver | Travel Video Story (2 Minutes or Less) | Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards (Society of American Travel Writers) | "Phuket (Thailand) With the Bangrong Community" |
| 2023 | Honorable Mention | Instagram Storytelling | Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards (Society of American Travel Writers) | "Learning About Conservation, Communities and Climate Change Through Travel" |
| 2022 | Named honoree | 30 Global Champions of Environmental Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism | Global Hospitality Awards | — |
| 2021 | Named honoree | 15 Travel Trailblazers | Travel + Leisure India and South Asia | — |
| 2020 | Gold | Best Communicator | WTM Responsible Tourism Awards India | — |
| 2020 | Winner | Positive Women in Travel Award | Positive Impact Travel, Ethics and Consciousness | — |
| 2019 | Shortlisted | Woman's Voice Award | Prabha Khaitan Foundation | The Shooting Star (Penguin) |
References
[edit]- 1 2 "The Shooting Star". Google Books. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- 1 2 3 "Rootless and Restless". Google Books. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ ""We Occupy An Insignificant Place In This Vast, Beautiful World," Says Author Shivya Nath". Travel and Leisure Asia | India. 2025-10-23. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Archives: 2023 Lowell Thomas Competition". SATW FOUNDATION. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Archives: 2025 Lowell Thomas Competition". SATW FOUNDATION. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ Lokapally, Vijay (2018-10-23). "Girl on the move". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "How I quit my job to travel: The social media addict". www.bbc.com. 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "How I quit my job to travel: The social media addict". www.bbc.com. 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Meet Travel Blogger Shivya Nath: India's Very Own Shooting Star". Travel and Leisure Asia | India. 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Solo Traveller Shivya Nath's Map To Shooting For The Stars Slowly & Sustainably". Travel and Leisure Asia | India. 2024-03-20. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Touring Turkey's Black Sea region by mini bus". www.bbc.com. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ Nath, Shivya (2022-07-15). "Traveling in Chile is a lesson in the ravages of climate change". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "How to choose a sustainable volunteering project". Lonely Planet. 2020-03-06. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ Nath, Shivya (2019-09-18). "How climate change is hurting the Happiest Place on Earth". Condé Nast Traveller India. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "What I learnt on a 'no fly' journey from Switzerland to the Arctic". Adventure.com.
- ↑ "Why We Love India: Discovering Kalap, A Forgotten Self-sustainable Village In Uttarakhand". Travel and Leisure Asia | India. 2022-08-25. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Travel influencers are changing the way we think about the world. But who are they?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "7 diverse voices speaking about travel inclusivity". National Geographic. 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Global Sessions on Climate Action in Tourism: COP30". Travelyst. Nov 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "ASEAN-India forum eyes ways to tap India's outbound tourism boom". TTG Asia.
- ↑ "Bali Poltekpar Takes Role in UN Tourism International Conference Raising the Issue of Women's Empowerment". Politeknik Pariwisata Bali.
- ↑ "World Community Tourism Summit 2024 at GX India". Planeterra.
- ↑ "Future Proofing Tourism: A Guide to Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience". Regenerative Travel. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Past Winners". The Bessie Awards, by Wanderful. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Winners 2025". Inspire Global Media Marketplace & Awards. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ Lazarus, Susanna Myrtle (2020-08-21). "Voices of Rural India: a new platform for storytellers from Indian villages founded by Shivya Nath, Osama Manzar and Malika Virdi". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "My Book". The Shooting Star. 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ Desk, India Today Web (2026-05-08). "From Iran to Robinson Crusoe Island: Shivya Nath on travel for connection, not checklists". India Today. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ↑ Nath, Shivya (2026-05-05). "Travelogue: An Indian woman writes about travelling solo in Uzbekistan's Tashkent (and elsewhere)". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "The Return of Reading: This year's best and next year's musts". The Economic Times. 2025-12-14. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ Nath, Shivya (2026-05-07). "Poetry, public transport and slow travel in Iran". mint. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Rootless and Restless: The Art of Sustainable Travel". Avid Learning.
- ↑ "Travel Blogger Shivya Nath Will Take You On A Vegan Trip Through Meat-Loving Countries". Travel and Leisure Asia | India. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Meet Shivya Nath: TL Champion Of Responsible Travel At India's Best Awards 2024". Travel and Leisure Asia | India. 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "How an Indian woman travels the world—in spite of her passport". Quartz. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ Rellihan, Kathleen (2022-11-29). "The Travel Industry Has Ambitious Climate Goals. How Will It Meet Them?". AFAR Media. Retrieved 2026-06-30.
- ↑ "Prabha Khaitan Woman's Voice Award". IBG News.
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