11 Questions With Creatives

Akil Kumarasamy is the author of the novel, Meet Us by the Roaring Sea (FSG, 2022), and the linked story collection, Half Gods, (FSG, 2018), which was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice, was awarded the Bard Fiction Prize and the Story Prize Spotlight Award, and was a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. Her work has appeared in Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, American Short Fiction, BOMB, among others. She has received fellowships from the University of East Anglia, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Yaddo, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. She is an assistant professor in the Rutgers University-Newark MFA program. Get to know her with 11 Questions!  

Amal Ghandour is a Lebanese-Jordanian author and blogger (Thinking Fits), with a career that spans more than three decades in the fields of research, communication, and community development. Her book, About This Man Called Ali (2009), was named the first biography of a modern Arab artist by the renowned Historian Philip Mansel. Get to know her with 11 Questions!  

Ghandour describes her new book, This Arab Life, A Generation’s Journey Into Silence, “as a memoir that is not of an individual but of the generation that came of political age in the 1980s in the Levant.” This Arab Life, she adds, “is an intimate rendition of the times that shaped us; the way we internalized our parents’ myriad dejections and disappointments; the pragmatism and silence that defined us; and the dispiriting inheritance we inexorably bequeathed our own children.”⁠  

Anita Kharbanda is an Indian-American engineer by trade, and a storyteller by heart. She lives in North Texas with her loving husband and two sons. An. avid lifelong reader of all kinds of fiction, she revels in seeing her children do the same. The healing power of letters filled with family history inspired Anita to start writing. She now writes the kinds of stories she’s devoured through the years, with one difference. She promised herself she’d write stories about the characters she dreamed of seeing in books growing up, and lift the voices of those who go unheard.  

When she is not working, writing or reading, she can be found playing board games with her family, watching her sons’ sports games, or baking. She loves to travel with her fam icy, but admits she sleeps coziest at home in her own bed. A warm cup of chai, reading a good book, and cuddles with her children are her zen.  

Yali Books published her debut YA novel, Lioness of Punjab, on September 17, 2022. The story is told from the perspective of Mai Bhago, the first female, Sikh warrior. 

Sabina Khan writes about Muslim teens who straddle cultures. She was born in Germany, spent her teens in Bangladesh and lived in Macao, Illinois and Texas before settling in British Columba with her husband and two daughters. Get to know her with 11 questions!  

Jesmeen Kaur Deo grew up in northern British Columbia, where she spent most of her childhood daydreaming. She loves books that can make her laugh and tug at her heartstrings in the same paragraph. When not wrapped up in stories, she can be found biking, playing the harmonium, or struggling to open jars. TJ Powar Has Something to Prove is her debut novel. Get to know here with 11 Questions! 

Namrata Patel is an Indian-American writer who lives in Boston. Her writing examines diaspora, dual-cultural identity among Indian-Americans and explores this dynamic while also touching on both—the family’s we’re born with and those we choose. Namrata has lived in India, Spokane, London, and New York City.   

Namrata has been writing for most of her adult life and loves creating characters who are relatable and aspirational. Her heroines range from quiet to kick-ass and her heroes are swoon-worthy, if a little flawed.   

Mona is obsessed with everything romantic, including chocolate, coffee and wine. Mona always loved to write, but did not get serious about it until 2011. She entered a contest where she had to start a short story with the words “Heads we get married, tails we break up”. She ended up losing the contest but she really loved the whole process of creating a plot, developing characers and putting a thought down on paper. Her first novel, Now, Then, Always, is a romance novel based on that prompt. When she’s not writing or checking eyes or doing laundry or cooking dinner or chauffeuring around her children, she trains for triathlons and loves to bake. Her favorite part of a triathlon is the bike portion, with swimming a close second. She runs because it’s included in the race. She's blessed with an amazing daughter and loving son who have both gone to college. Mona lives in Maryland with her romance-loving husband.

Eve Rodsky is an expert facilitator and the author of Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space. In Fair Play, she offers working families a completely a time- and anxiety-saving system to solve a universal issue: unequal labor in the home. Eve Rodsky is working to change society one partnership at a time by coming up with a new 21st-century solution to an age-old problem: women shouldering 2/3 or more of the unpaid domestic work and childcare for their homes and families. Get to know her with 11 Questions!

Tif Marcelo is a veteran US Army nurse and holds a BS in Nursing and a Master’s in public administration. She believes and writes about the strength of families, the endurance of friendship, heartfelt romances, and is inspired daily by her own military hero husband and four children. She hosts The Stories to Love Podcast and is the USA Today bestselling author of In a Book Club Far Away, Once Upon a Sunset, The Key to Happily Ever After, which was a Target Diverse Book Club pick, The Holiday Switch, and the Heart Resort and Journey to the Heart series. She and her books have been featured in The Today Show, Shondaland, Real Simple Magazine, The Asian Journal, and more! Her website, which includes a link to her newsletter, is www.TifMarcelo.com. Get to know her with #11Questions!

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Award-winning author, Sajni Patel, was born in vibrant India and raised in the heart of Texas. She draws on personal experiences, cultural expectations, and southern flair to create worlds centered around strong Indian women. Once in MMA, she’s now all about puppies, rainbows, and tortured love stories. She divides her time between Hawai’i (where honu is her #1 obsession) and Austin (where she not-so-secretly watches Mathew McConaughey from afar during UT football games.) Queso is her weakness and thanks to her family’s cooking, Indian/Tex-Mex cuisine is a real thing. She’s a die-hard Marvel Comics fan, an ube fanatic, and is always wrapped up in a story. Get to know her with 11 Questions!

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Dr Katy Munro worked as a GP in the NHS for about 30 years. During this time, she became a person with migraine and became passionate about helping others with this condition. She became a Headache Specialist GP at the National Migraine Centre, a charity providing migraine sufferers with access to high-quality care. She is also a member of the Council of the British Association for the Study of Headaches. Munro was instrumental in starting the Heads Up podcast which educates and helps anyone with, or caring for, a person with migraine. She is also a spokesperson on migraine, having been interviewed on Liz Earle's podcast, the BBC and ITV. Get to know her with #11Questions!

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Sailaja N. Joshi is a design thinker, intersectional feminist, mother to two, a bibliophile, an entrepreneur, lover of bold, modern design, diversity activist, and an aspiring dog owner. A Massachusetts native, @SailajaNJoshi grew up a voracious reader. From Leo the Lop to Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Amelia Bedelia, she loved every book she read. If you were to ask her today what her favorite book is, she'd likely say either the Harry Potter series OR The Tao of Pooh. It really depends on the day. She has always been interested in exploring multicultural generations and loves using those skills in new and exciting ways as the CEO and founder of Mango and Marigold Press. @MangoAndMarigoldPress is an award-winning independent publishing house that shares the sweet and savory stories of the South Asian experience. Founded in 2014, the company has produced fourteen books across four different product categories and been featured on The Today Show, Us Weekly, People Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post and so much more. Get to know her with #11Questions! 

Sonora Jha, PhD, is an essayist, novelist, researcher, and professor of journalism at Seattle University. She is the author of the novel Foreign, and her op-eds and essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Seattle Times, The Establishment, DAME, and in several anthologies. She grew up in Mumbai and has been chief of metropolitan bureau for the Times of India and contributing editor for East magazine in Singapore. She teaches fiction and essay writing for Hugo House, Hedgebrook Writers’ Retreat, and Seattle Public Library. She is an alumna and board member of Hedgebrook Writers’ Retreat, and has served on the jury for awards for Artist Trust, Hedgebrook, and Hugo House. Her latest book is How to Raise a Feminist Son: Motherhood, Masculinity, and the Making of My Family. Get to know her with 11 Questions!

Adiba Jaigirdar is a Bangladeshi and Irish writer and teacher and the author of The Henna Wars, which Kirkus called "impossible to put down." She is also a contributor for Book Riot. She lives in Dublin, Ireland. Get to know her with #11Questions!

Sara Jafari is a British-Iranian author and editor. Her debut novel The Mismatch was published in 2021. Longlisted for Spread the Word's Life Writing Prize, her writing has also been published in gal-dem and The Good Journal, among other publications. She is also a contributor of the essay collection "I Will Not Be Erased": Our stories about growing up as people of colour (Walker Books, 2019), and Who’s Loving You (Trapeze, 2021). She also single-handedly runs TOKEN Magazine, a literary and arts print magazine featuring under-represented writers and artists, as well as working full-time in children’s book publishing. Get to know her with #11Questions!⠀⠀⠀

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An expert on happiness and well-being, Stephanie founded The New Happy based on her graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been featured in publications such as Forbes and The Huffington Post and is a frequent keynote speaker on topics including happiness, workplace well-being, burnout, and performance. Previously, Stephanie was a leader at Thrive Global, LinkedIn, and Deloitte Consulting. Get to know her with #11Questions!⠀ 

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Malavika Praseed is a writer, book reviewer, genetic counselor, and the host of the Your Favorite Book podcast. In her show she interviews a new guest every week about one of their all time favorite books and offers her own critical perspective, or just adoring praise. When she isn't immersed in the book world, she's cooking, crafting, and watching baseball on TV. Get to know her with #11Questions!⠀

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Alli is a full-time freelance writer, editor, and content manager based in Philadelphia, and the host and producer of the nostalgic, book-focused, feminist-y podcast The SSR Podcast. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Creative Writing from Temple University in hopes of reaching her ultimate goal: to become a published author! When she's not writing or reading, she's working out, watching embarrassing TV, or hanging out with her golden retriever, Irv. Get to know her with #11Questions!⠀ 

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