Desi Books was a global multimedia forum that showcased South Asian literature and connected readers and writers through conversation and community.
~Jenny Bhatt, Founder & Editor-in-Chief
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Our Objectives
1/ to help desi writers find their readers because traditional, mainstream media chases a few at the expense of many;
2/ to celebrate the plenitude and diversity of South Asian literature through conversation and community.
Find a list of all our featured authors here and all our contributing authors here.
DISCLAIMER: Desi Books is, currently, a bootstrap venture and cannot possibly cover all genres and all books by writers of South Asian origin. If you’d like to offer practical help or support, please contact us here.
Our Origins
Desi Books was launched in April 2020 by Jenny Bhatt as a modest pandemic-driven podcast with different audio channels about books and writers of South Asian origin from the world over. Over time, new text and audio channels were added and aired or published weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Video channels were added in mid-2022. For more context about the whys and wherefores, listen to or read this collaborative podcast with Jenn Baker of Minorities in Publishing.
DESI (NOUN; PRONOUNCED ‘DAY-SI’ OR ‘DÉSI’)
This applies to a person of South Asian descent who lives anywhere in the world. The official definition of South Asia contains the following countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives. And, of course, their globally-scattered diaspora. The word is also often used as a qualifying adjective or adverb: “desi writer” or “desi cooking.”
For more about the etymology of the word “desi”, please listen to or read episode 2.
Channels
Former Channels
#DesiKidLit: A quarterly-ish overview of new and notable desi (South Asian) books from the children’s literature (PB, MG, YA, etc.) genre.
#DesiBooksGiveaway: In collaboration with the writer, we give away ONE copy of a recent book via social media.