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Drunk on Ink Q & A with Natalie Jenner and ‘The Jane Austen Society’, novel

Drunk on Ink is a blast interview series by Soniah Kamal author of  the novel Unmarriageable, a parallel retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and set in contemporary Pakistan

Natalie Jenner is the international bestselling author of THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY, a fictional
telling of the start of the society in the 1940s in the village of Chawton, where Austen lived. Born in
England and raised in Canada, Natalie is a former lawyer who was also the founder of Archetype
Books, an independent bookstore in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two
rescue dogs. THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY is her debut novel and is being published in sixteen
different languages around the world.

About The Jane Austen Society

THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY by Natalie Jenner is a fictional tale of the start of the society in the
1940s in the village of Chawton, England, where Austen lived and wrote or revised her six famous
novels. There are eight main characters in the novel, all of whom are obsessed with Austen and
conspire to create the society and turn the Austen cottage into a museum in her honor: a WWII war
widow, a village doctor, a farmer and local handyman, a town solicitor, a house-girl on the Knight
family estate, the anticipated heiress of that estate, an employee of Sothebys, and a Hollywood
actress. Multiple social, romantic, and cultural collisions ensue. Jenner brings all of these disparate
characters vividly to life, and you’ll root for all of them to find their own happiness.

SONIAH KAMAL:  First author/book you read/fell in love with? Why?

NATALIE JENNER: The Canadian author L. M. Montgomery and her Anne of Green Gables series. I loved how spirited,
chatty and imaginative Anne was (in part because, as a child, I too was all those things and a handful
more). I loved the hate-to-romance arc with her schoolroom nemesis Gilbert Blythe. And I loved the
thawing over time of both of her adopted parents, the brother-and-sister Cuthbert team, who
thoroughly captured the older, rural and stoic spirit of their generation. Anne took a really bad situation
in life and found ways to make it magical, and that is such a powerful message for children as we grow
up and realize that the world can be a very difficult and complicated place.

 To unwind: chai, coffee, water, wine?

Wine. But my morning latte is my greatest joy.

A novel, short story, poem, essay, anything you believe should be mandatory reading? Why?

I love Good Bones by Maggie Smith. It always gives me not only a feeling of being less alone with my
concerns, but also of hope, in equal measure. This, to my mind, is the best type of art.

 Any classic you wished you’d pushed through in your teens?

Until my 40s, I think I compulsively finished almost every book I ever started to read, including the
classics (I am much more ruthless now in middle age with my reading time!). But classics I missed along
the way, and wish I hadn’t, include War and Peace and Moby Dick, both of which I hope to read this
winter.

 Favorite quote from your book 

I have to paraphrase this one:

“Sometimes hope is all we have. But hope can also sometimes be just
enough.”

 Favorite book to film? And why?

Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility-watch. I love that it’s an Austen adaptation, and that although Emma Thompson
only incorporated a few dozen lines of dialogue from the book into her Academy Award-winning
screenplay, she still managed to capture the essence of the story and the characters. But more than
that, I just love it as a film that stands on its own. The humour, the pathos, the angst written all over
Alan Rickman’s face, the dogs scuttering everywhere, the gorgeous locations, the sumptuous picnics, the
evocative music: this movie has it all.

 Favorite Indie Book Store/s?

As a former indie bookshop owner myself, I have too many to name! But if pushed, I aspire for any
bookshop to be as good as the following: Toppings Bookshop in Bath; Village Books in Dulwich, London;
Hatchards in London; Shakespeare and Company in Paris; Blue Heron Books, A Different Drummer and
Ben McNally Books in Ontario; and The Bookstore in Lenox, Massachusetts;

The one thing you wish you’d known about the writing life?

That so much of it happens when it happens, and how little of it is in your control except for the writing
itself, and so just to keep writing, learning and enjoying along the way.

Does writing/publishing/marketing get any easier with each story/novel published?

I think different things become harder than before and others get easier. The more often that you write
and complete a long-form story, the more you develop an intuitive radar for what makes a story work,
and so in that way the act of writing does become easier. Publishing, including the marketing of books, is
in a state of disruption like so many other industries, and I think I strangely benefitted from entering the
profession in middle age and at this particular time: I have little to compare any of the current
uncertainty and disruptions to, and even fewer expectations, which helps me stay focused on the craft.

Dog, Cat, Or?
DOGS.

Henry James the Beagle and Molly the Akita

Ideal vacation?

A villa in the heart of Chianti, Tuscany: the most beautiful place in the world.

 Favorite book cover?

My own. Hands down. It’s a totally emotional response that there’s no getting around. But I also really
love the cover of the 1936 first edition of Summer Will Show by Sylvia Townsend Warner. It’s a
wraparound design by M. T. Ritchie who did other covers for The Hogarth Press run by Virginia and
Leonard Woolf. Ritchie’s illustration shows two women peering out a window in two different
directions, and both the perspective and the edgy, almost cubist, lines elevate the entire object for me
as a book.

Favorite song?

I love music and film as much as books, so this is tough—but one song that I have loved all my life, and
have no idea why, is My Funny Valentine by Rodgers and Hart. I walked down the aisle to the second
movement of the Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor by Bach, perhaps my favourite classical composer. I
also really love I Can’t Tell You Why by the Eagles. Huge Eagles fan here. And Rock the Casbah by the
Clash, Wonderwall by Oasis, and Roxanne by the Police. I am dating myself here!

Favorite painting/ work of art?

I love the large-scale Water Lilies panels by Monet that are on display at the Musee de l’Orangerie in
Paris. I love how expansive they are, making you feel like you could step right into them and be on your
way, and how there are no edges or perimeters at all: just this wondrous sense of beauty and infinite
time and space. Monet gifted these large-scale paintings to the nation of France the day after the
armistice of November 11, 1918, as a symbol for peace, and the fact that they continue to exist and
move people like me one hundred years later speaks to the power of that as much as anything.

Any Lit Festival anecdote you want a share? A great meeting with a fan? An epiphany?

Unfortunately, my debut novel released in May during the initial height of the pandemic, leading to the
cancellation of all my in-person events. Yet I doubt anything can top the emails from complete strangers
telling me how much my book helped them through a difficult time in life. Nothing, I swear, will ever be
more rewarding than that.

What is your favorite Austen novel, and film adaptation? Why?

In addition to Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility, I also adore the 1995 Persuasion. Although much grittier
and realistic in tone, it too captures so much of the essence of the book: Anne’s inner struggle to be true
to her needs, the abomination that is her immediate family, the respect and joy that her friendships
yield, and the lure of the sea and second chances. When Captain Wentworth takes her small hand in his
large gloved one and leads her down the empty Bath street in the wake of the travelling carnival, I am a
puddle every time.

Recommend a Small Press and/or Literary Journal?

There is an amazing bookshop in London, England, called The Second Shelf which puts out a semi-annual
magazine featuring some of the collectable editions by women authors that it carries. The beautiful
photos are accompanied by text written by amazing modern authors like Lauren Groff and Daisy
Johnson. It’s gorgeously made and designed, and I am a little obsessed with it.

 Last impulse book buy and why?

A first-edition signed copy of August Is a Wicked Month by Edna O’Brien, purchased from The Second
Shelf for my daughter’s nineteenth birthday. Late teens is the perfect age to be introduced to O’Brien,
and one of the great joys and privileges of my life is sharing my love of stories, and books as valuable
objects, with my daughter in this way.

Drunk On Ink Q & A with M. J. Irving and ‘Nova’s Quest for the Enchanted Chalice’, a novel

Drunk on Ink is a blast interview series by Soniah Kamal author of  the novel Unmarriageable, a parallel retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and set in contemporary Pakistan

M.J. Irving has always followed the advice that if you believe in something, it can come true. M.J. has spent life following this philosophy which has brought her to this point; where she can share the magical worlds in her head with you. M.J. is a Canadian of Jamaican, English and Irish descent currently living in London, England with her significant other. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of British Columbia and has led a career in research, marketing, sales and strategy management at one of the world’s leading media companies in the events industry. She has travelled to over 50 countries and many of her experiences have helped in shaping her writing. When M.J. is not writing, she enjoys countryside walks, playing board games and eating chocolate. She has a fascination with the unknowns of the world and the universe and her mind is quite often in the clouds.

About Nova’s Quest for the Enchanted Chalice

When a comet lights up the night’s sky, an ordinary boy from a small town in Dacaan begins to see that everything in his world is not as it seems. A secret that he didn’t know about himself becomes exposed and he finds himself running from the clutches of his enemies as he embarks on an adventure with his best friend to a mysterious land of magic called Happenstance. It is not long before he realizes that he has a bigger place in the world than he could have ever imagined. It is up to him to fulfil his new quest and challenge everything that he thought was good around him. But, the path is not so easy to travel and there are challenges, lies and betrayal in its wake.Nova’s Quest for the Enchanted Chalice, is a story of a world after magic has been banished and evil resides. A powerful regime that rules Dacaan uses social media, a virus and other invisible shackles to keep its citizens in their districts as ignorant hostages. But, as Happenstance begins to vanish and magic is lost forever, it is up to its inhabitants to fight back and they know that Nova is their only hope to save their world of magic and Dacaan.

SONIAH KAMAL: First author/book you read/fell in love with? Why?

M.J. IRVING: I’ve always had a bit of an obsession with Margaret Atwood, her writing is so readable and she tackles the big issues but with the simplest and most poetic language. More recently, I would say that a few of my new book loves outside of Margaret Atwood include Scythe by Neal Shusterman and the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I love both dystopian fiction and fantasy novels. My all time number one book that I can’t speak more highly of however is Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore.

To unwind: chai, coffee, water, wine?

Ok, don’t scream in frustration when you hear this but I like decaf coffee. I used to drink coffee, coffee and it made me feel sick in the afternoons and now I am obsessed with decaf. I also love both milky tea and herbal teas but nothing beats a large glass of wine at the end of a busy work week.

A novel, short story, poem, essay, anything you believe should be mandatory reading? Why?

The Handmaids Tale / Testaments by Margaret Atwood. I think it is so important to read dystopian fiction and understand just how fragile our political systems can be in the face of fractious leaders. The more that we can understand the possible, the better we can all be at pushing forward the right sorts of ideals and asserting ourselves at the right moments in our lives.

Any classic you wished you’d pushed through in your teens?

I love the classics and have read almost all of them. I read Rebecca just a few years ago and really wish I had of read this earlier in my life as it was just brilliant.

Favorite quote from your book 

I’m going to cheat because I have more than one!!!

“I’ve been writing your story as you’ve grown Nova. We are just getting to your quest, and I believe it should be a fantastic one.”

Or…

“Happenstance is fading, magic is fading. Lady Luck’s prophecy is coming true, and she saw you, Nova.”

Or…

“You destroyed our homes here on Earth, you killed our people and then you made us a myth. You made us something imaginary and unreal to the people of Dacaan. You made us in to your monsters when, look at you, you are the monster. Now you are stealing our magic.”

Favorite book to film? And why?

Wonder (watch trailer) It is such a beautiful story in any case but watching it is just an absolute dream. I don’t usually like books to movie but this one is incredible!

Favorite Indie Book Store/s?

I am honestly loving all of the indie authors on bookstagram and that is my newest bookstore. I encourage you all to follow unknown authors, there are some incredible things happening off the high street ?

The one thing you wish you’d known about the writing life?

I’m going to cheat again haha. So, the first thing is that it isn’t as hard as it looks if you just believe in yourself and try. I was always afraid that I couldn’t do it because it is only for the special few but its like riding a bike, if you practice hard enough and then take the training wheels off you will eventually succeed and once you’ve learned the skillset, you can ride a bike for the rest of your life. The second thing is that it can be really testing at times and there are so many parts to not just writing the novel but setting it up so that you can get published and engage the right communities so its important to lean on others from the writing community and just take your time.

Does writing/publishing/marketing get any easier with each story/novel published?

I honestly really hope so. I feel that once you’ve got things set up the first time or you learn what you need to do then it should all fall in to place for the future books. I’ll get back to you on that in June when I release book two – Nova’s Quest for the Spellbound Elixir!

Dog, Cat, Or?

Both, the more animals the better. I would own a zoo if I could! I particularly love orangutans and sloths at the moment and support wildlife charities so that I have lots of pets since I currently live in a flat/apartment so have no room for a pet.

Ideal vacation?

Iceland, I went last year and I am still not over its beauty and how magical it is. But, also Bora Bora or somewhere hot and beautiful with lots of beaches, coconuts and palm trees.

Favorite book cover?

Nova’s Quest for the Enchanted Chalice – obviously haha! It is the most gorgeous book cover that I have ever seen. I tried to make sure that it would fit with other covers in its genre but stand out and I really feel it does. It is something of a mix between the cover for Priory of an Orange Tree, Nevernight and a Harry Potter cover which is what I was looking for and my designer and illustrator are all to thank for it!

Favorite song?

I’m a 90s girl so anything No Doubt or Ace of Base are absolutely amazing in my eyes. I also really love Jewel and some country music classics.

Last impulse book buy and why?

I bought Good Omens based on a book recommendation from a bookstagrammer/author and can’t wait to get stuck in. I was looking for a good read that would make me laugh as I loved Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy so I’m looking forward to reading this recommendation.

Drunk On Ink Q and A with Saumya Dave and ‘Well-Behaved Indian Women’, a novel

Drunk on Ink is a blast interview series by Soniah Kamal author of  the novel Unmarriageable, a parallel retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and set in contemporary Pakistan

Saumya Dave is a writer, psychiatrist, and mental health advocate. Her debut novel, Well-Behaved Indian Women, was released in July 2020 and her sophomore novel What a Happy Family comes out in 2021. Her essays, articles, and poetry have been featured in The New York Times, ABC News, Refinery 29, and more. She is a practicing therapist, co-founder of the mental health nonprofit thisisforHER, and an Adjunct Professor at Mount Sinai. She lives in New York City with her husband and son.

About Well Behaved Indian Women

Simran Mehta has always felt harshly judged by her mother, Nandini, especially when it comes to her little “writing hobby.” But when a charismatic and highly respected journalist careens into Simran’s life, she begins to question not only her future as a psychologist, but her engagement to her high school sweetheart.

Nandini Mehta has strived to create an easy life for her children in America. From dealing with her husband’s demanding family to the casual racism of her patients, everything Nandini has endured has been for her children’s sake. It isn’t until an old colleague makes her a life-changing offer that Nandini realizes she’s spent so much time focusing on being the Perfect Indian Woman, she’s let herself slip away.

Mimi Kadakia failed her daughter, Nandini, in ways she’ll never be able to fix­—or forget. But with her granddaughter, she has the chance to be supportive and offer help when it’s needed. As life begins to pull Nandini and Simran apart, Mimi is determined to be the bridge that keeps them connected, even as she carries her own secret burden.

SONIAH KAMAL:  First author/book you read/fell in love with? Why?

SAUMYA DAVE: Beverly Cleary’s books gave me the mix of comfort and entertainment I needed as a child. I related to the family dynamics, struggles at school, and the feeling of never fitting in she portrayed through her characters. Her work taught me early on that my favorite stories were the ones that helped me feel less alone in the world.

To unwind: chai, coffee, water, wine?

I’m a new mom, which is another way of me saying I alternate between coffee and wine

 A novel, short story, poem, essay, anything you believe should be mandatory reading? Why?

The poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou has gotten me through some of the most difficult moments of my life. I’ve always believed that words have power and memorizing certain ones can provide strength, a type of emotional reserve, for challenging times.

Any classic you wished you’d pushed through in your teens?

Madame Bovary, which I’m reading now.

Favorite quote from your book

 “For years, we assumed ambition was a curse for us. Men could always wear it like a cape, while women were forced to tuck and hold it inside themselves.”

Favorite book to film? And why?

Gone Girl (watch trailer) It was the first psychological thriller I read in medical school and my husband and I went to the movie’s opening night. It’s one of the few stories where I’ve enjoyed the book to film equally.

 Favorite Indie Book Store/s?

Books Are Magic and The Strand in New York; Posman Books and Little Shop of Stories in Georgia.

The one think you wish you’d known about the writing life?

To accept rejection as a constant, whether that’s in the form of editorial feedback or negative reviews. I used to be so scared of major edits or the idea of scathing reviews. But I’ve since learned that a story doesn’t fully belong to me once it’s out in the world and that’s a great thing.

Does writing/publishing/marketing get any easier with each story/novel published?

I believe that making that transition from writing as a hobby to writing as a job can be tough; however, having a team of people to work with who are passionate about books and being part of a community of writers is invaluable for work that is otherwise so solitary.

Dog, Cat, Or?

Both.

 Ideal vacation?

Sitting on a beach with a stack of books, chips, and a giant bowl of salsa

 Favorite book cover?

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. The hair! The colors! All of it!

 Favorite song?

Current answer: my son’s Little Baby Bum nursery rhymes

Favorite painting/ work of art?

Vincent van Gogh’s “Self- Portrait with Bandaged Ear”. I incorporate this painting in the Narrative Medicine class I teach to psychiatry residents and it always leads to a compelling discussion about mental illness, creativity, and solitude.

 Any Lit Festival anecdote you want a share? A great meeting with a fan? An epiphany?

I’m hoping to attend a Lit Festival in the post COVID world!

What is your favorite Austen novel, and film adaptation? Why?

Pride and Prejudice- watch trailer, hands down. I watched it every year in high school and it was my post final exams treat throughout college. My adolescent self will always have a crush on Colin Firth.

Recommend a Small Press and/or Literary Journal?

Akashic Books, based out of Brooklyn

Last impulse book buy and why?

Big Friendship because I want to read more nonfiction and the subject of friendship has always fascinated me. I read that the authors went to therapy for their friendship and that fact alone made me get the book.

Drunk On Ink Q and A with Aruni Kashyap and ‘There Is No Good Time For Bad News’, poetry collection

Drunk on Ink is a blast interview series by Soniah Kamal author of  the novel Unmarriageable, a parallel retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and set in contemporary Pakistan

Aruni Kashyap writes fiction, poetry, essays, tweets, Facebook posts, screeds, in Assamese and English. He is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and English at the University of Georgia and lives in Athens, Georgia.

About There Is No Good Time For Bad News 

There Is No Good Time For Bad News is a collection of poems that depict, through oral histories, narratives of survivors, on what it means to live under the duress of an authoritarian state. Poems that attempt to show the possibilities of storytelling when it intersects with the discourse of human rights and justice. Poems that draw heavily from oral history, folktales to critique the modern state’s abuses of power.

SONIAH KAMAL: First author/book you read/fell in love with? Why?

ARUNI KASHYAP: Jun Beli, Tora Aru Onyanyo by Dipti Dutta Das: a feminist auto fictional work set in a small town called Golaghat in the state of Assam in India. It is a town I love and know very well. Also, it depicted a world before my state Assam burst into an insurgency against Indian rule, seeking independence. My childhood was all about gun battles and bomb blasts because I grew up during an armed insurgency. This novel portrayed my homeland before the insurgency, providing a clear picture of what it meant to live peacefully in the sixties and seventies. It is also the first novel I ever read in my life.

To unwind: chai, coffee, water, wine?

Always, chai. With milk, cardamom, and a hint of ginger.

A novel, short story, poem, essay, anything you believe should be mandatory reading? Why?

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James. First, it is a riveting work of fiction. It is so damn well written, and I wish I could write like that. Reading the book makes me wonder what the hell I am doing because I can never write at that superior level. But the book is also radical in terms of language. Can we write in an English that defies conventions? Can we write in an English that is derived from the spoken? It questions what kind of language the modern Anglophone publishing industry privileges repeatedly and I find that especially empowering and inspiring. It is also radical for many other reasons, and if I elaborate, it will become a 5000 words essay. So, I will stop. But everyone should read it!

Any classic you wished you’d pushed through in your teens?

I wish I had read The Old Man and the Sea more diligently. I read it in my teens but didn’t enjoy it. And I didn’t read it for many years but reading it in my twenties was a wonderful experience.

Favorite quote from your book 

Oh, dear!

“Definitions have always belonged to the definers.”

Favorite book to film? And why?

The Namesake. Mira Nair managed to transform the novel and make it much more invigorating. Amazing music. Incredible acting by Tabu and Irfan Khan. I have watched the movie many times, but I have read the novel only a couple of times. It is one of those rare instances when you like the movie more than the book.

Favorite Indie Book Store/s?

I love Avid Book Store in Athens, Georgia. They are close to where I live, have a great staff, and hosted one of my readings! How can I not love them?

The one think you wish you’d known about the writing life?

Many things! I wish I had a mentor. I never had one to tell me, “Aruni, you should do this.” But above all, I wish I had known that success means what it means to me now in the post-2020 world. I think that I am successful as an author, and I feel very fortunate about that. I know I worked and but also lucked out. I do want the big book deal, and I do want to be a bestselling author, and of course, I want to speak to massive crowds in large auditoriums, but I used to think that is the only kind of success, but after 2020, I have realized that success is all about the ability to practice my art with the least hindrance. I am immensely grateful I can do that.

Does writing/publishing/marketing get any easier with each story/novel published?

I think the writing gets easier as we write more: it is like Hindustani or Carnatic classical music; the more you write, the easier it becomes. But publishing and marketing are things that are not in our control. If I had an influential literary family, I would open my own press and publish myself. But I have chosen this, so I complain a lot to my friends and still submit and still get upset occasionally with rejections. I don’t get affected by negative reviews because I am an academic and know literary history well and have seen how artistically audacious books are reevaluated after a few years. I hope to continue writing such books.

Dog, Cat, Or?

I have had dogs and cats.

Boruani 🙂

Ideal vacation?

Anywhere with loved ones, but with a thriller and lots of good food.

Favorite book cover?

After it was adapted as a movie, the new paperback edition of Beloved was published I think – the woman with that black gown, the black hat. It is a stunning cover, but I think you can appreciate that cover more if you had already read the novel and have not watched the movie.

Favorite song?

“Bimurto Mur Nixati” by Bhupen Hazarika is a song about lovemaking, but it is so suggestive and euphemistic that it can be a song about anything else. I know it by heart.

Favorite painting/ work of art?

Las Meninas, by Diego Velázquez

Any Lit Festival anecdote you want a share? A great meeting with a fan? An epiphany?

Writing in Assamese regularly has given me a huge set of readers who have also become friends and part of my life. Some of them have been with me through thick and thin. Sometimes we write serialized novels in Assamese, and my first Assamese novel was serialized in a magazine called Satsori. Once, a reader fell in love with Rajeev, who is also the protagonist of the novel. He comes to Minnesota, studies English, falls in love, and often wonders about his home in Assam. He is critical of US foreign policy (as one should be!), racism (of course!), etc., and airs those views usually in between conversations. This reader fell in love with Rajeev and would share her responses with me often but often thought I am Rajeev: “When you do this in the novel in that episode, I thought.” I would correct her, “No, that’s not me, that’s the character.” But one day, she stopped calling and left a comment on my social media that she doesn’t like Rajeev anymore because he “sleeps around”. “This novel reveals what kind of a character-less person you are,” she said. I have laughed about it for all these years.

Do you have a favorite film, or two, or three?

My god, the list is so long, but I like Hazaroan Khahishein Aisi. I also love watching commercial Indian movies that don’t make much sense. My favorite movie is Mr. India: about a man who finds a device that makes him invisible when he wears it. He uses this newfound superpower to fight corruption in India.

What is your favorite Austen novel and film adaptation? Why?

I am not an Austen fan, but I enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice and Emma. I read them because they were was in my English literature course. It was compulsory reading. I have not watched any of the adaptations.

Recommend a Small Press and/or Literary Journal?

A small press I admire is Hub City Press in South Carolina. I admire many small presses.

Last impulse book buy and why?

An hour ago! My house is full of books that are waiting to be read. When will I have the time to read them all!

Drunk on Ink Q & A with Gayatri Sethi and ‘Unbelonging’, a memoir

Drunk on Ink is a blast interview series by Soniah Kamal author of  the novel Unmarriageable, a parallel retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and set in contemporary Pakistan

Born in Tanzania and raised in Botswana, Gayatri Sethi is of South Asian Punjabi descent, multilingual, and polycultural. She reflects on these lifelong experiences of identity, immigration, and belonging in her debut book titled Unbelonging. When she is not homeschooling or recommending readings as Desi Book Aunty, she travels the globe with her students and family. She is also a co-founder of the Desi KidLit Community and Summit. 

About Unbelonging  

Unbelonging (Mango and Marigold Press) explores the migrant narratives of Desi coming of age in multiracial Africa and America. It is a compilation of verse-like reflections about identity, inter-cultural anti-Blackness, social justice, and the South Asian diaspora for young adult readers.  

SONIAH KAMAL: First author/book you read/fell in love with? Why?

GAYATRI SETHI: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I read it as a teen undergoing a very colonial education in Botswana in the 1980’s. This book revealed aspects of Sub-Saharan history and life that I was desperate to understand.

To unwind: chai, coffee, water, wine?

Sparking water with a hint of lime at the end of long days refreshes me. I begin the day with a bottomless cup of strong coffee with no sugar. As the day wears on, I stay with my mantra: hydration is happiness. I have a complicated relationship to chai, and although I adore tisane and herbal teas, I prefer to enjoy them in company.

A novel, short story, poem, essay, anything you believe should be mandatory reading? Why?

Audre Lorde’s (1981) “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism” is vital reading for me. I revisit it especially on difficult days. I journal about segments of the insights often. It is the kind of bibliotherapy or medicine that I most need. I used to assign it on syllabi when I taught women’s studies courses. The light bulb moments in each rereading are priceless.

Any classic you wished you’d pushed through in your teens?

None. I read too many so-called classics both in secondary school O’levels/ A’levels and at a college that still prides itself on a “Great Books” core curriculum. Frankly, I wish I had not pushed through so much western philosophy and classics. They stole the joy of reading from me.

Favorite quote from your book 

Mantra for karma reckoning  

Internalized oppression is real.

Internalized oppression is really real.

Internalized oppression is really oppressive.

Favorite book to film? And why?

I strongly prefer books to film. I have yet to meet a film version that does justice to the book version.

Favorite Indie Book Store/s?

Firestorm Cooperative in Asheville is a feminist bookstore where one of my former students is a co-owner. They are deeply committed to abolition and justice, and have been very supportive of my book curating work as desi book aunty. Many of my recommendations are offered by them at a discount. 

The one thing you wish you’d known about the writing life?

I wish I had known with conviction how similar publishing is to academia. I suspected as much, but I am now learning how the publishing industrial complex is plagued by the kinds of enduring injustices that caused me to exit academia.

Does writing/publishing/marketing get any easier with each story/novel published?

I am a debut author at age 49. I am not sure any part of this is easy or gets easier. Perhaps, by nurturing supportive and reciprocal connections with like minded writers, we might brave this writing life together? 

Dog, Cat, Or? 

I am allergic to most pets. We do not have a pet yet, much to the chagrin of beti who was on a daily plea to adopt a ferret when the lockdown began last spring. She is currently trying to convince me that puppy adoption is a good idea. I get puppy pictures texted to me almost daily as part of this campaign.

 Ideal vacation?

I dream of a month in Zanzibar, sipping coffee in a beach hammock.  I would relish extended sunset strolls along the Indian ocean, close to the lands of my birth and childhood. I have not returned to Tanzania since our family left when I was ten for Botswana. When travel is possible, I long for the means to make this dream trip.

Favorite book cover?

Aside from yours and mine? I met you for the first time through your book’s cover. I was so enthralled by it that I purchased your book right away, and read it cover to cover. This fascination came about before I met you online or in person. I adore shades of blue, peacocks and paisley. I am surprised that these vital elements of desi art are not on my book’s cover. Divya Seshadri, the artist, went with fiery elements and tones to match the contents of the book. 

Favorite song?

My current favorite songs are protest music connected with the kisaan protests. The Kisaan anthems are giving me so much hope and inspiration. I also play Enjoy Enjaami on repeat these days and relish the sheer beauty and power of the decolonial imagery in the video. I don’t speak Tamil, and yet, everything about this music sings to my soul.

 Favorite painting/ work of art? 

I am new to appreciating Punjabi art.  I grew up without access to museums and galleries, and when I gained this access in the U.S. and France, they were painful reminders of colonial theft of our lands. I have a few favorite artists I visit daily on instagram. I want to buy all the art prints created by Ravina Taroor for my imaginary ideal office/ library.  Baljinder Kaur, the illustrator of the picture book Fauja Singh Keeps Going has a keen eye for capturing childhood. Their art brings me so much joy and delight. The kinds of connection their art offers to Punjabi heritage for a diasporic person like me is priceless.

Any Lit Festival anecdote you want a share? A great meeting with a fan? An epiphany?

I adore our local book festival, Decatur Book Fest, and meeting you there in life before virtual festivals was truly a highlight. I hope we can meet up there again one of these days soon.

Do you have a favorite film, or two, or three?

I love Biography documentaries. The standout is James Baldwin’s – “I am Not your Negro.” I had read his words and thought they were fire.  They came to life in a very empowering way and the documentary completely captures my heart every time I revisit it.

What is your favorite Austen novel, and film adaptation? Why?

I read Sense and Sensibility repeatedly in secondary school. For inexplicable reasons, it is my favorite Austen novel. In A levels, I read most of them to the point of being able to recall direct quotes for the final exam. I stopped reading European authors and so-called classics about a decade or so ago. I even avoided retellings until I discovered your book (mostly because the blue cover was completely breathtaking). The postcolonial retelling you do of Pride and Prejudice is truly brilliant. I recommend Unmarriageable as exemplary retelling. I am not just saying this because you are interviewing me.

(blush– thank you)

Recommend a Small Press and/or Literary Journal?

Mango and Marigold Press took a chance on my unconventional writing. I am unagented and went with a south asian owned press for deliberate reasons. Every member of my book team from illustrator to typeset artist to line editor, is a South Asian woman. This is possible because Mango and Marigold supported me in countless ways to realize my vision for this debut book. Until recently, they only published books for younger readers. Their vision for South Asian storytelling is distinctive.

Last impulse book buy and why?

My last impulse buy was to subscribe to the Haymarket Books monthly book box. I look forward to this delivery with much anticipation each month. The abolitionist work they publish is exactly the kind of content I am striving to learn these days. It is the best investment in book aunty life that I have yet to make.