I'm an Indian Bengali American. Throughout my entire life, I've been immersed in my family's culture, religion, and traditions. I was also exposed to South Asian culture in general through movies, music, dance, and other forms of art. But one aspect that was significantly lacking in representation was in the literature that I consumed.

I have always been a voracious reader. But as a South Asian child who grew up in the U.S. in the 90s, most of the books that were available and accessible to me were centered on cis het white characters written by white authors. Reading diversely wasn't an option because people of color were (and still are) generally underrepresented in publishing, but even more so when we focus on people’s specific identities. Authors of various South Asian cultures still have few, if any, books published in the Global North (or even in the South tbh), especially in genres such as fantasy and romance.

Doing this South Asian reading challenge last year made me realize how much I need this representation in books, one of the biggest passions of my life. It feels really empowering to see stories by South Asian authors centering South Asian characters being uplifted.

Over the last several years, the publishing industry in the Global North has made strides in diversity and inclusion. But there's room for improvement, and I'd like to do my part in promoting more diversity.

Join me in this celebration of South Asian voices by reading books that center South Asian characters written by South Asian authors.