Crafting brave new worlds in times of chaos

ukanya Venkatraghavan’s first book, Dark Things (2016), won its publishing contract through a newspaper contest. “They invited first chapters of books and I sent mine in. That’s how I got my publishing deal with Hachette India,” she says.

Fantasy was the obvious choice, Venkatraghavan adds, because even though she began her career as a journalist, she has always lived with one foot in another world.

“For seven years I was an only and very lonely child. I lived in a very old, rambling house with secrets of its own. It sparked my imagination. My grandfather used to tell me stories, buy me books. My childhood was full of magic, parallel universes, different realms and monsters.”

Venkatraghavan, 42, was also deeply influenced by the writings of fantasy fiction writers Neil Gaiman (The Sandman series;

American Gods;

The Ocean at the End of the Lane) and Samit Basu (The Simoqin Prophecies).

Dark Things is about a yakshi who seduces men and steals their secrets. It features an evil underworld goddess, apsaras, a world of three realms and more.

On the rise of the woman author

What has changed most significantly in this genre, Venkatraghavan says, is there are many more women writers now, in India and around the world. The state of the world is another reason more people, in a wider range of age groups, opt for young adult fantasy fiction. “The more the world slips into political, social and environmental chaos, the more people seek escape in a world of fantasy where you know things will most likely end well,” Venkatraghavan says. “People are always going to want stories of courage, hope and magic.”