Malik Sajad is a visual artist, writer, and animator based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. His debut graphic novel, Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir, was released to critical acclaim and won the Verve Storyteller of the Year Award. The book was later included in the Brooklyn Museum’s permanent Artists’ Books collection in New York.

Working at the intersection of image and text, Sajad records life’s overwhelming complexities through visual storytelling. His practice brings together words and images in a way that strengthens narrative impact, allowing personal experience to reflect broader human condition.

Sajad’s inclination toward visual expression emerged early in life. Growing up in Srinagar, he produced streams of drawings inspired by his surroundings and assisted his father in carving intricate motifs onto wooden blocks used in traditional furniture. This early exposure sparked a lasting interest in woodcut techniques, particularly those employed by German Expressionist artists. These formative experiences shaped his vision of fusing art with  storytelling.

An avid reader, Sajad draws literary inspiration from writers such as Richard Wright, Toni Morrison, and Saadat Hasan Manto. His visual influences span generations, ranging from Käthe Kollwitz to Jean-Michel Basquiat. Engagement with multiple disciplines—including film, literature, visual art, and animation—has been central to the development of his distinctive aesthetic.