Sanjena Anshu Sathian is an American novelist and journalist. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''Gold Diggers'', was published by

Penguin Press Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

Sathian was raised in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

by a

Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. ...

father and

Kannadiga The Kannada people or Kannadigaru IAST">nowiki/>IAST:_Kannadadavaru_or_Kannadigas_(English_term).html" ;"title="IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowiki/>IAST: Kannadadavaru or Kannadigas (English term)">IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowik ...

mother, both immigrants from

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. She grew up in

metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

and attended

The Westminster Schools The Westminster Schools is a Kindergarten –12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, founded in 1951. History Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), a girls' school a ...

. In high school, she competed in

policy debate Policy debate is an American form of debate competition in which teams of two usually advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government. It is also referred to as cross-examinat ...

, winning the national championship as a senior. She attended

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, graduating in 2013 with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in English. She was a recipient of a 2017 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. The fellowship supported her studies at the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...

, from which she graduated in 2019 with an MFA in

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

Career

After graduating from college, Sathian worked as a technology journalist in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

before moving to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

to work as a foreign correspondent. Sathian's debut novel, ''Gold Diggers'', was published by

on April 6, 2021. It was sold to Penguin Press after a seven-way auction. ''Gold Diggers'' is a

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

novel that follows Neil Narayan, a second-generation Indian teenager from the suburbs of Atlanta. It is tale of gold heists and alchemy. In February 2021, it was announced that the novel is being adapted into a television series by

Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...

's production company

Kaling International Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...

. Sathian will be a co-writer and co-executive producer of the adaptation, while Kaling and Howard Klein will be its executive producers. Ron Charles of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' praised the novel's "effervescent social satire" and "astonishing cultural richness", calling it an "invaluable new alloy of American literature." Charles also compared it to the works of

Aimee Bender Aimee Bender (born June 28, 1969) is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal stories and characters. She is a 2011 recipient of the Alex Awards. Biography Born to a Jewish family, Bender received her undergraduate deg ...

Karen Russell Karen Russell (born July 10, 1981) is an American novelist and short story writer. Her debut novel, ''Swamplandia!'', was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 2009 the National Book Foundation named Russell a 5 under 35 honore ...

and

Colson Whitehead Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of eight novels, including his 1999 debut work '' The Intuitionist''; '' The Underground Railroad'' (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Awa ...

. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' praised Sathian's "sharp" characterization, while ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' praised her "page-turner" prose. ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' wrote that it "deftly weaves together magic and history to produce a compelling coming-of-age story." The novel was selected for ''

''s "10 Best Books of 2021" list. On April 13, 2023, Sanjena was awarded the biennial

Townsend Prize for Fiction The Townsend Prize for Fiction is awarded biennially (that is, every two years) to a writer from the U.S. state of Georgia for the best novel published during those years, by the Georgia Center for the Book and '' The Chattahoochee Review'' the lit ...

for ''Gold Diggers''. Sathian's short stories have appeared in ''

Boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

'', '' The Masters Review'', '' Joyland'', and ''Salt Hill''. She has written nonfiction pieces, including for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'', ''The Juggernaut'', ''

The Millions ''The Millions'' is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews. ''The Millions'' has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary not ...

'', and '' OZY''.

Works

Novels

Short stories

* * * * * * *

Selected articles

* * * * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sathian, Sanjena Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American people of Kannada descent American people of Malayali descent American novelists of Indian descent American women novelists American women writers of Indian descent Magic realism writers Writers from Georgia (U.S. state) Yale College alumni Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni The Westminster Schools alumni Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows