Kritika H. Rao, Shveta Thakrar, Roshani Chokshi, and Ram V are helping to create a new genre. They use elements of their Hindu backgrounds to write fantasy books primarily aimed at a Western marketplace. I talked with them about the challenge of drawing on a diverse religion of beliefs and gods that many Western readers and publishers might be unfamiliar with. Our panel discussion also turned out to be an opportunity for the authors to bond over their favorite deities, the Hindu comics they grew up reading, and the questions they’ve faced about who gets to tell their stories. 

Roshani Chokshi writes the middle-grade series, Aru Shah, and she’s the author of The Star-Touched Queen trilogy of YA novels.

Kritika H. Rao is the author of The Surviving Sky, which will be part of The Rages Trilogy.

Shveta Thakrar is the author of Star Daughter and The Dream Runners. 

Ram V is a comic book writer, and the author of the graphic novel, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr.

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