New Book! New Story!

As a kid, I couldn't have imagined a mainstream book with a Sikh basketball player on the cover. Wasn't that the dream?

Today, The Door is Open comes out—and check out the cover. The illustration is based on a photo of me from my middle school basketball team!  

I felt so honored when Hena Khan invited me to contribute a story to this book, and honestly, I was a little surprised and intimidated. I hadn't published anything for middle schoolers before, and the contributors for her list included some of the best Desi American authors.

How could I hang with them? I mean, look at this list:

• Hena Khan

• Veera Hiranandani

• Supriya Kelkar

• Maulik Pancholy

• Aisha Saeed

• Reem Faruqi

• Rajani LaRocca

• Naheed Hasnat

• Sayantani DasGupta

• Mitali Perkins

I said yes anyway, knowing that this was a chance to help bring our stories into the world. 

I loved every minute of the experience. The authors were so kind and collaborative, and Hena was so encouraging and supportive. I loved the story that I developed—it's funny and meaningful, and without giving too much away, it was fun to write about a young Sikh who hates eating Indian food. :) 

I loved everyone else's stories, too, and I can't wait for you to read them. Here's a link to purchase. Hope you'll buy it for the young people in your life and help show the publishing world that we want more books like these in our world!