Desi Books (March 2020 – January 2023) was a multimedia forum showcasing South Asian literature from the world over and connecting readers and writers through conversation and community.

I founded it at the start of the global pandemic to 1) help our writers find their readers because traditional, mainstream media chases a few at the expense of many; 2) celebrate the plenitude and diversity of South Asian literature through conversation and community. Read more about the origins.

During this tenure, 180 individual authors/poets/translators, 23 contributing book reviewers, and 1200+ books were featured. The ~three-year archive of text, audio, and video features will remain online via the links below. It has been my honor to help raise the tide of South Asian literature in this way. I am grateful to all who trusted me with their works: the authors, poets, translators, book reviewers, publicists, publishers, subscribers, et al.

Stay healthy, keep reading, and write well. And please keep raising the tide of South Asian literature.

– Jenny Bhatt
Author, Literary Translator, Book Critic, Writing Instructor, and Desi Books Founder