Author Jyotsna Sreenivasan discusses the power of second-generation stories; Indian American stereotypes in fiction; tips for writing dialogue and expressing the internal thoughts of a character whose first language is not English; writing and publishing without an MFA; freeing herself from the pressure to publish; transforming a novel into a novella; the long road of revision; and how her latest book, the story collection These Americans, came to be.

Mentioned in this episode:

• And Laughter Fell From the Sky (William Morrow)
• These Americans (Minerva Rising Press)
• Second Generation Stories: Literature by Children of Immigrants
• Pioneer Girl by Bich Minh Nguyen
• The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston
• Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
• Barack Obama’s early journey as an author

For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page at https://ohiocenterforthebook.org/podcast. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org and put “podcast” in the subject line.