Solitary writing has its beautiful moments, but it also comes with delicate challenges. Writers live in their heads and limit their social interactions so they can focus on maturing their thoughts before putting them on paper. Yet, it’s the same self-imposed rule that can isolate and demotivate them at times. That’s why it’s important to be part of a community that understands them. A podcast that does even more to facilitate this is Love Of Literature (LOL), hosted by award-winning Singaporean novelist Jayanthi Sankar and talented India-based writer Sredhanea Ramkrishnan. The podcast was launched in late 2020 to help aspiring writers.
While most book podcasts focus on the content of the book, the characters, or how the author developed their interest in writing and their other literary references, LOL was created to provide a behind-the-scenes look at not only the literary process but also the author’s publishing process. “It shifts the attention from the creation to the creator and aims to build a friendly community for the loneliest part of art, the creation itself,” Ramkrishnan said when we asked him what makes their podcast so special.
The hosts interview authors, reviewers, publishers, literary agents, illustrators and others in the publishing and writing industry and ask them about their practices, products and advances in the field.
Today, LOL can be proud to have a community of 200+ authors from 4 continents who feel at home on the platform and share their knowledge. It was inspiring to get to know the seed of its conception. When one of the moderators, Sankar, helped new co-host Ramkrishnan transform her first novel from a draft into a “publish-ready” book, the duo realized that there were so many heartwarming stories that didn’t make it into a book just because the authors couldn’t navigate the publishing world. The moderators decided to not only leverage Sankar’s expertise but also invite novelists from around the world to give motivation and ideas to aspiring authors out there and create a community where authors could collaborate and support each other.
On the fourth season of LOL, the hosts said it was humbling and rewarding to understand and draw inspiration from the different authors. “Some of our best learnings were the unique techniques that some authors used in their novels, such as using letters, text messages and emails as a means of communication between the characters in their works,” said Ramkrishnan.
LOL not only brings together aspiring authors but also helps them connect with experienced authors like Alka Joshi, Tanushree Podder, Latha Gwalani, Chirashree Bose and Ranjani Rao who not only share their expertise and knowledge but also run newsletters and book clubs to stay in touch.
“The aspiring authors and debut novelists could become writing buddies, beta readers and social media promoters for each other,” Jay explained. “That’s why LOL has publishers like Zero Degree Publishing and literary agents like Lalitha Ravindran who could help get the authors’ books into the right hands.”
The show’s audience and guests are not limited by geographic areas, genres, or even literary forms such as poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. The podcast has featured authors from the United States, Canada, and South Africa. Incidentally, since the hosts come from the Asian continent, most of the authors they address have South Asian roots.
Although South Asian literature is thriving globally like never before, there is still a lack of awareness and acceptance of the subtle differences in storytelling from the diaspora perspective. Only a handful of dominant South Asian voices are found at the global publishing tables. However, the LOL moderators are optimistic about the future of writers emerging from the diaspora. Sredhanea clarified, “Since India does not leave Indians even if Indians leave India, the ‘desi-ness’ of the Indian community abroad is highly interesting for the writers of the century to explore. The seamless connection between cultures, languages, ideas, emotions and politics could produce a remarkable story for the American publishers or literary agents who are usually on the lookout for something unique.”
Sreya Sarkar is a Boston-based policy analyst. She is the author of the novel Beneath the Veneer, published earlier this year.
