Contributor(s): Neel Mukherjee, Elif Shafak | What are the foundations of society? Two award-winning writers look at the underpinnings of cultures and societies in their writings about the country of their origins, India and Turkey, in conversation with Bidisha. Neel Mukherjee’s second novel, The Lives of Others, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014. It has also been shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award. His first novel, Past Continuous was joint winner of the Vodafone-Crossword Award, India’s premier literary award for writing in English, for best novel of 2008. The UK edition of the novel, A Life Apart, was published by Constable & Robinson in January 2010. Elif Shafak (@elif_safak) is Turkey's most-read woman writer and an award-winning novelist. She writes in both English and Turkish, and has published 13 books, nine of which are novels, including: The Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, Honour and her nonfiction memoir Black Milk. Her books have been translated into more than forty languages. Her new novel The Architect’s Apprentice was published by Penguin UK in autumn 2014. Bidisha (@bidisha_online) is a BBC TV and radio presenter, critic and novelist. As a journalist, she specialises in the arts and culture and in international human rights. Her fifth book, Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices of London, is based on her outreach work with asylum seekers and refugees. She is an alumna of LSE. This event forms part of the LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival 2015, taking place from Monday 23 - Saturday 28 February 2015, with the theme 'Foundations'.