Speakers on this panel are true representatives of changing the narrative - they discuss stories from a South Asian perspective. Hear all about what it takes to subvert the story, at this panel. 

Soniah Kamal

Soniah Kamal is an award winning novelist, essayist, public speaker. Soniah’s work has appeared in critically acclaimed anthologies and publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Normal School, Buzzfeed, TEDX stage, The Georgia Review, The Bitter Southerner, Catapult and more. Soniah’s novel, Unmarriageable: Pride & Prejudice in Pakistan is featured on PBS Books, Publishers Weekly hails it a ‘must read’ and Shelf Awareness has said that ‘ If Jane Austen lived in modern-day Pakistan, this is the version of Pride and Prejudice she might have written‘.  Accolades for Unmarriageable include a  Financial Times Readers’ Best Book, a People’s Magazine pick, an NPR Code Switch and New York Public Library Summer Read Pick,  a Library Reads pick, a  ‘Books All  Georgians Should Read,’ a Georgia Author of the Year for Literary Fiction nominee, is shortlisted for the 2020 Townsend Award for Fiction, and more. Her social media handle is @soniahkamal  and website http://www.soniahkamal.com/

Sonora Jha

Sonora Jha is the author of the novels The Laughter (2023) and Foreign (2013) and the memoir How To Raise A Feminist Son: A Memoir and Manifesto (2021). The Laughter has earned rave reviews from The New York Times, The New Yorker, India Today, and The Seattle Times and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Bookpage and others. Sonora was formerly a journalist covering crime, politics, and culture for the Times of India and for East Magazine, Singapore. She moved to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Political Communication. Dr. Jha's OpEds, essays, and public appearances have featured in The New York Times, on BBC, and in several anthologies. She is a professor of journalism at Seattle University and also teaches creative writing for Hugo House, Hedgebrook Writers’ Retreat, Creative Nonfiction, and Seattle Public Library.

Moderated by

Srisruthi (Sri) Ramesh

Srisruthi (Sri) Ramesh is the co-founder of Brown Girl Bookshelf (BGB), a platform to share books and digital media by South Asian creators. BGB is a growing community of over 28,000 across social media and a monthly newsletter. Sri’s favorite genres are historical fiction and memoirs. She also enjoys hiking, cooking, and working to improve women’s health.