In this episode of The Sanskaari Girls Podcast, ⁠Annie Zaidi⁠—writer, journalist, and editor—joins ⁠Vandita Morarka⁠ to explore the limits of representation in literature and publishing.

They discuss the ethics of writing across difference, the demands of research and lived experience, and how accountability shifts between fiction and non-fiction. The conversation also examines publishing gatekeeping, linguistic hierarchies, and the risks of tokenism and performative diversity in politically charged writing.

Drawing from Annie’s work across genres and her editorial role in Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian Women’s Writing, this episode reflects on who gets to speak, who is heard, and what structural change might require.

🎙️ The Sanskaari Girls Podcast is a podcast by the Sanskaari Girls Book Club (SGBC), a South Asian feminist reading community fostering critical engagement with literature, amplifying marginal voices, and building reflective, politically conscious conversations.

Follow SGBC on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for the SGBC Membership!

00:00 Introducing Annie

01:22 Navigating genre in writing

06:57 Authority, and writing across difference

12:09 The challenge of authentic representation

22:49 Researching lived experiences; separating the personal

25:41 On training as a journalist

31:39 Lessons from journalism

36:11 Editing Unbound, & structural exclusions in publishing

43:45 Tokenism and performative diversity

50:46 On returning to academia56:05 Advice to listeners

01:01:12 Annie's reccs

01:06:30 Outro