Today we’d like to introduce you to Ananya Devarajan.
Hi Ananya, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been a writer since I was six years old, and in my sophomore year of high school, my first novel went viral on Wattpad. It wasn’t a breakout success, and I didn’t become an overnight sensation, contrary to what I had hoped. And so, I entered my first year of university, expecting to study Neurobiology and English without any distractions.
Writing had always been my calling, though, and it didn’t take long before I wrote another novel entitled KISMAT CONNECTION. I revised the manuscript in between classes, and I soon signed with Ann Leslie Tuttle at Dystel, Goderich, and Bourett LLC. Five months later, I sold KISMAT CONNECTION to Inkyard Press and HarperCollins Publishers, and I became one of the youngest fiction authors of Indian descent in the United States.
Looking back on my story now, I can honestly say that I never thought I’d sign with a literary agent at the age of eighteen, let alone secure a two-book deal and a career as a young adult fiction author at nineteen. To this day, I don’t quite know exactly how I did it. All I can say is that I’d always loved to write and that I wanted to break into the traditional publishing industry, even if I wasn’t sure of exactly when. So, I kept writing and revising and learning and growing, and eventually, I’d achieved everything that I’d dreamed of since I was a kid.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Honestly, being a young adult fiction author and a full-time university student can be difficult. There have been times when I’ve had to choose between studying for a physiology midterm or hitting a deadline for my publisher, and I’ve ended up doing neither. Ultimately, I decided to pursue the traditional publishing route because I knew I wanted to see my novels in stores across the globe, and I knew that I wanted to make writing a lifelong career—or at least, one of my careers! So being a student author is like having two intensive careers at once, and while that is very challenging for me to balance even to this day, I really try to put myself and my happiness first. In doing that, I’ve realized that I never lose my passion for my education or my writing, and I’ve been able to manage both for years as a result.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As I’d mentioned earlier, I’m a young adult fiction author with a penchant for writing love stories featuring Indian American teenagers. My debut novel, KISMAT CONNECTION, releases from Inkyard Press and HarperCollins Publishers on June 13, 2023, and it is truly such a gratifying experience to interact with an audience that I can explicitly relate to—whether that be in age, in generation, or in culture. Outside of publishing, I am a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of California, Irvine, where I’m majoring in Neurobiology with a minor in English, and it is my hope that I will be able to attend medical school in the nearby future!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
My happiness comes from the people closest to me, the family and friends that I could not bear to do life without. I’ve worked hard to develop a support system that I can trust to uplift me when I’m at rock bottom and humble me when I’m losing sight of what matters—and now that I’ve found my inner circle, it has become abundantly clear to me that they are my happiness.
Pricing:
- KISMAT CONNECTION can be pre-ordered from retailers worldwide for $18.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ananyadevarajan.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ananyad12/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ananyad12
- Other: https://linktr.ee/ananyadevarajan
