On the latest episode of the Stepwell podcast, Pallavi Narayan, Associate Professor of Practice and Director, Ahmedabad Writing Programme, Ahmedabad University is in conversation with renowned historian Maya Jasanoff, X.D. and Nancy Yang Professor, Coolidge Professor of History, Harvard University. They explore themes like South Asian Studies, commercialism in publishing, digitisation, South Asian and non-South Asian audiences, e-books and the landscape of book delivery, the Global South, diversity, literary writing, the Booker Prize, writing fellowships and residencies. Jasanoff elaborates on access, funding for writing, publishing, translation, reading habits, issues surrounding writing in South Asia, and artificial intelligence. Narayan and Jasanoff touch upon challenges for women writers in South Asia, with Jasanoff commenting on how important it is to have a room of one’s own and a stipend. They also discuss the platform that Ahmedabad University is providing to writing and translation students, and the various tools that students can use on campus. Finally, Jasanoff talks about the importance of reading and the varieties of language it makes possible, and signs off by sharing that the best way to become a writer is to read, which aids in expanding one’s approach to problems and one’s vocabulary, and opens up a range of possibilities.