Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2023
272 pages
Genre: Essays
Paperback Original.
Publication Information
A vital collection of essays on the power of literature and the craft of writing from an international array of writers of color, sharing the experiences, cultural traditions, and convictions that have shaped them and their work
Filled with empathy and wisdom, instruction and inspiration, this book encourages us to reevaluate the codes and conventions that have shaped our assumptions about how fiction should be written, and also challenges us to apply its lessons to both what we read and how we read. Featuring:
The start of a more inclusive conversation about storytelling, Letters to a Writer of Color will be a touchstone for aspiring and working writers and for curious readers everywhere.
"A stunningly personal and practical compilation of literary and life advice ... Artists of all races will benefit from the honesty, profundity, and munificence radiating from each of these letters." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In this impressive collection, Anappara and Soomro bring together deeply personal essays from authors of color on the craft of writing...There's not a weak piece among the bunch; each brims with intimate personal reflection and insight into the purposes and power of fiction. The result is a vivid look at what it means to be a writer of color today." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"If you've ever felt that your creative choices were being dismissed or ignored in a fiction workshop, if you've been pressured to make your writing more 'accessible,' if you've strained under the demand to write about certain things only and to silence others—this book is for you. It is a guide, a comfort, and a call all at once." - Laila Lalami, author of Conditional Citizens
"A brave and triumphant act of resistance and decolonization, a necessary resource for writers and educators alike, and a must-have book for readers who care about diversity and inclusion in literature. Reading this book, I felt seen and empowered." - Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, bestselling author of The Mountains Sing and Dust Child
"Funny, moving, thought-provoking, default-challenging, engaging, and full of so much heart and so many voices, this book feels to me like nothing less than a revolution." - Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring
"Witty, candid, bold, gutsy, eye-opening and sometimes eye-popping, revelatory and wise! If you want to know what writers talk about among themselves, you've found it." - Aminatta Forna, author of The Memory of Love
"A feast of delights: impassioned, funny, instructive, and energizing. Here, matters of craft are interwoven with those of personhood and politics, offering a global range of perspectives rarely found in books on writing. I cherish this book deeply, like a friend I've been waiting all my life to meet." - Tania James, author of Aerogrammes and The Tusk That Did the Damage
This information about Letters to a Writer of Color was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: © Liz Seabrook
Deepa Anappara grew up in Kerala, southern India, and worked as a journalist in cities including Mumbai and Delhi. Her reports on the impact of poverty and religious violence on the education of children won a Developing Asia Journalism Award, an Every Human has Rights Media Award, and a Sanskriti-Prabha Dutt Fellowship in Journalism. A portion of her debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, won the Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize, the Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award, and the Bridport/Peggy Chapman-Andrews Award. She has an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where she is currently studying for a Ph.D. on a CHASE doctoral fellowship.
Link to Deepa Anappara's Website
Name Pronunciation
Deepa Anappara: DEE-puh a-nuh-PAR-uh. Like the name "Anna" followed by the word "par" and "uh."
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