11 Questions With Creatives

Shana Abraham (@shana.abraham) is a 22-year old global health enthusiast, currently a senior at Duke University, and is a passionate advocate for womxn and girl’s rights. Growing up Indian-American, she found there was very limited support for womxn due to the heavy patriarchal influences in both the South Asian and American cultures. She recently published the book RISE: How Empowering Women Elevates Us All,  which was written for young womxn and their support networks to better uplift their communities through elevating womxn, and emphasize the idea that anyone can be a changemaker. Shana has just launched RISE Womxn (@risewomxn), a platform to empower young womxn through education on relevant issues, highlighting womxn changemakers, and providing actionable strategies and opportunities to elevate womxn around the world. Get to know her with #11Questions!

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After a childhood raised on Bollywood, Monty Python, and Jane Austen, Farah Heron wove complicated story arcs and uplifting happily ever afters in her daydreams while pursuing careers in human resources and psychology. She started writing those stories down a few years ago, and never looked back. She writes romantic comedies and women’s fiction full of huge South Asian families, delectable food, and most importantly, brown people falling stupidly in love. She lives in Toronto with her husband, two children, and a rabbit named Strawberry. She recently adopted two cats, who are now in charge.⠀Get to know her with #11Questions!

You can also watch a video version of this conversation on YouTube.

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Sarita Kolhatkar is an Illustrator and Concept Designer living in Vancouver. Sarita earned her BFA in Animation and Ilustration from San José University, California. Since then, she has built a portfolio of work spanning the last thirteen years, working for gaming and television studios internationally (in Seattle, Bangalore, Dubai), as well as locally in Vancouver. Her work is credited as Lead Artist in Hulu's children's animated show, "The Bravest Knight", Afterland, (which won the GLAAD award in 2020), as well as video game experience in triple-A titles like Guild Wars 2. Sarita spends her all her free time on her podcast, @ChuskiPop, which she hosts with her best friend Get to know her with #11Questions! 

You can also watch a video version of this conversation on YouTube. 

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Check out: instagram.com/chuskipop | instagram.com/saritasketches

Jag Nagra (She/Her) is a queer Graphic Designer turned Illustrator with over 15 years of experience in the industry. She is passionate about community development and ending the stigma against LGBTQ+ people within the South Asian community. Her art celebrates South Asian concepts that depict a sense of confidence and fearlessness that aren’t typically seen in mainstream art—she unapologetically celebrates darker skin tones and South Asian garments and motifs. Get to know her with #11Questions!

You can also watch a video version of this on YouTube. Follow @11QuestionsPod on Instagram & Twitter for more. Check out Jag’s art at instagram.com/jagnagra

Marjan Kamali, born in Turkey to Iranian parents, spent her childhood in Kenya, Germany, Turkey, Iran, and the United States. She is the author of two novels: The Stationery Shop and Together Tea. Get to know her with #11Questions!

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Nadia Hashimi is a pediatrician turned novelist who draws on her Afghan culture to craft internationally bestselling books for adults as well as young readers. Her novels span generations and continents, taking on themes like forced migration, conflict, poverty, misogyny, colonialism, and addiction. She enjoys conversations with readers of all ages in libraries, book festivals, classrooms, and living rooms. With translations in seventeen languages, she’s connected with readers around the world. Get to know her with 11 Questions! You can also watch a video version of this on YouTube. Follow @11QuestionsPod on Instagram & Twitter for more.

Rani Shah is the author of Wisdom From A Humble Jellyfish, and regularly wonders who in the world allowed her to write a book in the first place. Featured in Cosmopolitan & Forbes, her book encapsulates what Rani claims to love: biology, comedy, and (kindly) telling people what to do. By day, she's a content manager for Trello, by night she's the founder and editor of Fuss Class News (@fussclassnews), a South Asian American satire blog. You can catch her in Brooklyn, probably in a bakery pointing at things. Get to know her with 11 Questions! You can also watch a video version of this on YouTube. Follow @11QuestionsPod on Instagram & Twitter for more.

This week on #11Questiins, we meet Tiffany Shlain: Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the bestselling book 24/6. She lectures and performs worldwide on the relationship between technology and humanity. Shlain has received over 80 awards and distinctions for her films and work. For information on her work, visit tiffanyshlain.com and follow Tiffany on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Get to know her with 11 Questions! You can also watch a video version of this on YouTube.

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This week on #11Questions, we meet Zarrar Said. Zarrar was born in Lahore and spent his childhood between Dubai and the US.  His debut novel, Pureland, drew immediate attention worldwide, deeming it a “gripping read” (Forbes) which was “along the lines of Midnight’s Children” (The Hindu). Zarrar currently works and lives in New York City with his wife and eight year old son. Get to know him with 11 Questions! You can also watch a video version of this on YouTube.

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This week on #11Questions, we meet Rena Patel. She is a South Asian American writer based in Los Angeles, California. Get to know her with 11 Questions! You can also watch a video version of this on YouTube.

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