South Asian Literary Showcase and Launch Party

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South Asia Institute is proud to bring a group of writers, who will be sharing their works of different genres. The reading will be followed by the launch of Mary Anne Mohanraj's newly released book, 'Tornado: A Breast Cancer Memoir'.

Join us for an afternoon of literary readings and music on Saturday, October 21 from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.

Featured reader: Sonali Dev & Mary Anne Mohanraj,

Rapid-fire readers: Devi Bhaduri, Gulnaz Saiyed, & Tara Swaminathan

Musical interlude: Angeli Primlani

Participating writer bios

Devi Bhaduri is a Chicago screenwriter and playwright. She has a Master’s in writing from DePaul University, and studied screenwriting at the Writers Bootcamp. Her plays have been produced by the Rasaka Theatre Company and Dramatis Personae. Devi is also a contributor to the Chicago Review of Books, where you'll find her reviews of horror and thriller fiction. Devi's favorite horror stories investigate the supernatural, the psychological, or murders, and come with a generous helping of suspense.

USA Today bestselling author Sonali Dev writes hilarious and heartwarming stories about families without boundaries. Her novels have been named Best Books of the Year by Library Journal, NPR, the Washington Post, and Kirkus. She has won the American Library Association’s award for best in genre, the RT Reviewer Choice Award, multiple RT Seals of Excellence, has been a RITA® finalist, and has been listed for the Dublin Literary Award. Shelf Awareness calls her “Not only one of the best but one of the bravest romance novelists working today.”

Mary Anne Mohanraj is author of Tornado: A Breast Cancer Memoir, Perennial, A Feast of Serendib, Vegan Serendib, Bodies in Motion, The Stars Change, and twelve other titles.

Mohanraj founded Hugo-nominated and World Fantasy Award-winning speculative literature magazine Strange Horizons, and serves as Executive Director of both DesiLit (desilit.org) and the Speculative Literature Foundation (speclit.org). She’s Clinical Associate Professor in English and Global Asian Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. www.maryannemohanraj.com

Angeli Primlani is a Chicago-based playwright, director, producer and actor. She was culture and features writer and online editor for The Prague Post in the Czech Republic. She was the founding Artistic Director of Accidental Shakespeare Theatre Company. Her play "The Black Knight" premiered in spring of 2022. The Marlen of Prague is her first novel.

Gulnaz Saiyed is a full-time mother, writer, editor, sensitivity reader, and content marketer living outside of Chicago. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and is a drop out of the university’s doctoral program in Learning Sciences (life happens). Her personal essays have been published by Catapult, the Georgia Review, Brain Mill Press Voices, and the Huffington Post. Her journalistic work has appeared in the Washington Post, Shondaland, andPopular Mechanics. She is currently seeking representation for her first book, a YA novel drawing from her experiences growing up in Kentucky.

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