Lavanya Lakshminarayan is a speculative fiction writer and game designer from Bangalore, India. She has received an honorable mention from the A.C. Bose Grant for South Asian Speculative Literature 2019, awarded by the Speculative Literature Foundation, USA. She is one of the winners of the Nature of Cities Prize for Urban Flash Fiction 2018 and was shortlisted for the Toto Award for Writing in English 2019. Her fiction has appeared in the anthologies A Flash of Silver-Green and Third Eye and has also been featured in the Indian Quarterly and other publications.
As a game designer, Lavanya has built worlds and designed narratives for highly successful game titles, including Zynga Inc.’s FarmVille, FarmVille 2, and Mafia Wars. Her work on these games has been experienced by millions of players around the world. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys a strong cup of coffee, traveling the world, and spending time with her dogs.
In an exclusive interview with Nitish Raj; Editor-in-Chief, The Literary Mirror; Award-Winning Author Lavanya Lakshminarayan talks about the various aspects of technology and speculative fiction along with the rise of the dystopian genre in Indian literature.
Q.1: How are you feeling after finding your book in the elite list of Top 100 Notable Books from India 2020 by The Bombay Review?
Ans. I am extremely honored. I do not write the book with the intent of seeking such things but I am truly humbled. To see those ideas getting recognition makes me glad. To keep the company of so many wonderful writers like Samit Basu, Arvind Adiga and Annie Zaidi are simply amazing.
Q.2: Is there any particular reason behind the less popularity of the dystopian genre in our country?
Ans. I can’t let my finger on any specific reason. I feel like India has a very deep-running literary tradition. Historically there have been works in the speculative fiction writers in regional languages but recently we are finding such works in the English language like Samit Basu, Manjula Padmanabhan, Anil Menon. But it is still an emerging market in India. But in India still, there have been readers reading Franz Kafka, George Orwell but still, it’s an untapped market.
Q.3: As Analog/Virtual has the premise of Bangalore; how much these IT cities have molded the thought-process of common people?
Ans. Bangalore used to be a sleepy small town until the IT Boom happened. The people engaging with each other are quite different as compared to other metropolitan cities. There have been a bunch of startups and ecosystems. It has a very vibrant culture. You can’t go to a coffee shop without encountering five different startups discussing. Because people are so geared up for working long hours, people are hugely reliant on technology. It is easy to disconnect from reality and we are unaware of a lot of problems on the street. The biggest shift has come in the form of how much we are disconnected from the real world and how much we are unaware in terms of the mindset of whether we belong to that privilege bubble.
Q.4: You had been awarded prestigious honors even before releasing your debut work. What role it has played in the visibility of your debut work?
Ans. I think it has helped me definitely to build credibility within the writing community. I am honored to receive the recognition. Honestly speaking, I just submit my work and hope for the best. I think it plays a role in establishing your seriousness as a writer. It helps to demonstrate your work has a wide market and appeal.
Q.5: What would be the biggest takeaway for the readers who are reading speculative fiction for the first time from Analog/Virtual?
Ans. I would say that you can look at technology through a different lens, to appreciate its importance in helping lives. I would hope that it would help us while looking in a mirror in understanding the relationship of people and technology; which we are using right now. Indeed! the technology is helpful but we need to be mindful while using the technology.
Q.6: What would be your suggestion to newbie authors?
Ans. I would say that the most valuable thing as a writer is persistence. If you love your work, you must keep improving your craft and hone your skills. Taking rejection and feedback is not easy but as you are continuously on the right path; success will find you.
One thought on “An Exclusive Interview with Award-Winning Author; Lavanya Lakshminarayan”
Comments are closed.