12 or 20 (second series) questions with Anuja Varghese

AnujaVarghese (she/her) is a Pushcart-nominated QWOC writerbased in Hamilton, ON. Her work appears in The Malahat Review, Hobart,The Fiddlehead, and Plenitude Magazine, as well as the BestWomen's Erotica Volume 6 and Queer Little Nightmares anthologies,among others. Anuja serves as Fiction Editor for The Ex-Puritan Magazine ,as well as a board member for gritLIT, Hamilton’s literary festival, andco-host of LIT LIVE, Hamilton’s monthly reading series. Anuja holds a degree inEnglish Literature from McGill University and is currently pursuing a CreativeWriting Certificate from the University of Toronto, while working on a debutnovel. Her short story collection, Chrysalis (House of Anansi Press,2023), explores South Asian diaspora experience through a feminist, speculativelens. She can be found on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok (@anuja_v acrossplatforms), or by visiting her website www.anujavarghese.com. 

1- How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent workcompare to your previous? How does it feel different?

Mymost recent work IS my first book! It feels different from having storiesincluded in literary magazines or anthologies because it’s very recognizable asMY book. It has felt a little life-changing to have the book out in the worldat book stores, festivals, events, etc. and to meet and hear from readers whoare connecting with the stories and characters in different ways.

2- How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?

Iam in awe of poets and the alchemy of poetry, but it’s not where I hear my ownvoice. I’ve published a few creative non-fiction pieces here and there, but Ifind it really hard and draining – especially if I’m trying to tell the truth(or some version of it) about my own life. Making shit up has always been wherethe creative energy is for me.

3- How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does yourwriting initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appearlooking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copiousnotes?

Mostof my stories start with a very clear moment, or particular voice/character,and flow from there. Sometimes that unfolding of the story in differentdirections comes very quickly and I’ll have a first draft in a few days. Othertimes, I’ll get stuck somewhere along the way and it can take weeks or monthsto figure out where the story wants to go (or if it has anywhere to go at all).I tend to edit as I go, so by the time I have a completed first draft, it’susually pretty close to the final shape of the piece, although it always takesa few subsequent drafts to finetune.

4- Where does a work of fiction usually begin for you? Are you an author ofshort pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working ona "book" from the very beginning?

WhenI first started sending out my work and getting published in literary magazinesand anthologies, I wasn’t thinking about putting them together in a book. Mystories weren’t connected in any way, and some were what you would call“literary fiction” while others were “speculative fiction.” I was very lucky tohave Farzana Doctor as an early mentor and she was the first to look at my workand say, “Maybe there’s a book here?” Once I gave myself permission to collapsethe walls between “literary” and “speculative,” Chrysalis really startedto take shape as an intentionally genre-blending book.

5- Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you thesort of writer who enjoys doing readings?

Ilove it! A lot of my stories have elements of fable and fairy tale in themwhich lend themselves well to being read aloud. For me, the work comes alive ina new way when I get to read it to an audience.

6- Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds ofquestions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think thecurrent questions are?

Moreand more, I’m seeing conventional genre distinctions as outdated and elitist,in terms of both content and form, so I’m interested in exploring questionsaround writing beyond genre constructs and how we can blend or subvert genreexpectations to create new stories and ways of storytelling.

7– What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Dothey even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?

I have an art piece commissionedfrom artist and writer Hana Shafi (@frizzkidart on Instagram) that features thequote “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” - Toni Cade Bambara. I believe thestories writers tell, the characters we allow to be heroic in big and smallways, and the possibilities we put on the page for the way the world could be areall part of the role we play in shaping/changing the culture.

8- Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult oressential (or both)?

Ihave been fortunate to work with really excellent editors, both for Chrysalis,and for individual stories that have been published in other places. As thewriter of the work, I’m sometimes too close to it to see it clearly. A goodeditor can look at the piece as a whole and ask the right questions to fill ingaps, clarify ideas, create tension, and cut dead weight.  Overall, I think the editorial process hasbeen essential to strengthening my work.

9- What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to youdirectly)?

Iwas in a workshop with Silvia Moreno-Garcia and she said “Publishing is atreadmill, not an escalator, so you better learn to walk.”

10- How easy has it been for you to move between genres (literary fiction,speculative fiction and erotica/romance)? What do you see as the appeal?

Forme, moving between genres isn’t just easy – it’s necessary. For a while, I wastrying to be very disciplined and only write “Capital-L-Literary” fiction andthe work felt so forced and stilted. Now, I always have a few different writingprojects on the go – whether it’s a short story, a bit of fanfic, a script, orprogress on the novel, and being able to move between genres/projects helps tokeep me in a generative space.

11- What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one?How does a typical day (for you) begin?

Inaddition to my writing practice, I have a full-time job, two kids, and my workas Fiction Editor with the Ex-Puritan Magazine. So… the short answer isthere is no routine. I write very much in the spaces in between the rest of mylife. Sometimes, the best (and quietest) window of writing time for me is12-3am. I do take myself on a few weekend writing retreats a year, where I’llhole up in a hotel room, order room service, and be allowed to get lost in thework in a way that everyday life doesn’t allow.

12- When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack ofa better word) inspiration?

Igo back to books or movies, or sometimes, particular scenes in either, thatevoke emotional or sensory cues that relate in some way to what I’m trying towrite. I also try to write where the energy is – so if I’m stalled on onewriting project, I’ll move to something else, and often one will inspire newdirections in the other.

13- What fragrance reminds you of home?

Jasmine.My mum always has jasmine plants growing in her kitchen. It’s also a scent Iassociate with Kerala, where my dad is from. It’s not my home, but it was his, andthere are memories of heat and food and dust and family tied up in that.

14- David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there anyother forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visualart?

Musicis a powerful influencer for me and I tend to have very specific playlists dependingon what I’m working on. My current WIP is historical fiction/fantasy/romance(love that genre blending!) based on medieval India and the music that has beenthe background of this work is a mix of Carnatic music, arrangements for kathak(a form of Indian classical dance), and soundtracks.

15- What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply yourlife outside of your work?

Ursula K. Le Guin’s writing has been hugely important and influential for my own work,and her approach to infusing her writing and her life with feminism,imagination, empathy, humor, and balance speaks to the values I try to beguided by, in terms of my creative work, my work as a partner and a parent, andmy work as a member of my local and literary communities. As a short storywriter first, I also consistently go back to masters of the craft like Alice Munro and Jhumpa Lahiri. Every time I read their work, I come away withsomething new, which in turn inspires and sharpens my own writing.

16- What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?

Writea novel that inspires a slew of (preferably smutty) fanfic, voice a video gamecharacter, adapt something I’ve written for the screen, sleep under the starsin the Sahara.

17- If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or,alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been awriter?

Mymother still holds out hope, I think, that I may one day be a lawyer and Ithink I might have ended up doing that if I hadn’t been lured into a life ofcreative pursuits.

18- What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?

Idon’t know how to do anything else!

19- What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?

Ijust finished Lindsay Wong’s new short story collection Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality and it’s fabulous – so weird and funny and sharp. Ithink the last film that really moved me was Everything Everywhere All at Once. Again – super weird in so many ways, but also weaves together allthese beautiful threads about family and survival and hope amidst chaos. Plus,Michelle Yeoh is just a fucking treasure and I would watch her in anything.

20- What are you currently working on?

A novel thatwill hopefully inspire a slew of (preferablysmutty) fanfic!

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