4 exciting new novels by women authors releasing this October

These upcoming book releases by women authors promise an exciting month for fiction lovers.

Liberal Hearts

By Nayantara Violet Alva (Penguin Random House India, INR 350)

Nayantara Violet Alva’s debut coming-of-age novel Liberal Hearts challenges the reader to see beyond the surface of privilege. Set in an elite, progressive college that is surrounded by the idyllic mustard fields of Haryana, this novel juxtaposes the carefree lives of affluent students with the harsh realities faced by the local community.

As Namya and Vir’s stories intertwine, they each undergo profound transformations. Positioned as a fresh and witty college romance, this engaging narrative promises to resonate with anyone who has ever questioned their place in the world.

About the author: Nayantara Violet Alva grew up in Delhi and Bangalore and currently resides in Mumbai. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: she is the daughter of acclaimed novelist Anuja Chauhan, and granddaughter of politician Margaret Alva. Nayantara graduated from Ashoka University in 2019.

Since then, she’s worked as a producer on hit shows like Anupama at Disney-Star and is currently producing original OTT shows for JioCinema. Her debut novel Liberal Hearts is inspired by her college life and she aims to present complex and nuanced themes in a funny and accessible form.

The Beauty of Us

By Farzana Doctor (ECW Press, USD 15.95)

Farzana Doctor’s The Beauty of Us is a gripping young-adult novel about surviving hardship, the power of friendship, and third-culture experiences in the Western world.

After 15-year-old Zahabiya’s father remarries, she can’t wait to leave home and convinces him to send her away to boarding school. But will she fit in?

Seventeen-year-old Leesa has been at Thornton since middle school after her parents’ messy divorce. She’s been climbing the school’s social ladder with equal measures of meanness and manipulation. She’s also guarding a big secret.

Fresh out of university, this is Nahla’s first real teaching job, and she’s drowning. She has her distractions though: the flirty art teacher and a cryptic notebook left behind by her deceased predecessor.

Zahabiya and her friends — all victims of Leesa’s bullying — uncover Leesa’s secret. But can they help Leesa? Nahla, too, is embroiled in her own mystery. Each is indelibly changed by what they learn.

About the author: Farzana Doctor is a celebrated and award-winning Canadian author and speaker whose books are often seen on ‘best-of’ lists each year. Her ancestry is Indian, and she was born in Zambia while her family was based there for five years, before immigrating to Canada in 1971.

An activist and psychotherapist, she has authored several books including Seven, which took on the issue of female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra community.

The Grand Samara

By Trisha Das (Bloomsbury India, INR 599)

The Grand Samara by Trisha Das is a modern rom-com is set in Delhi, full of family drama, Indian weddings, and plenty of heart. Samara, a wayfaring wedding photographer and the daughter of a diplomat, lands in the middle of the chaotic Khanna household, and things get messy. Think Indian fat weddings and all the drama of Karan Johar’s Love Aaj Kal. The only sure thing is that the Khanna family will never be the same again. Neither will Samara, who may finally find what she’s been missing her entire life: a home.

About the author: Much like her brother, comedian and actor Vir Das, Trisha Das has a natural talent for humour. A columnist and documentary filmmaker, she has authored several books both fiction and nonfiction, including the very popular Ms Draupadi Kuru: After the Pandavas and its sequel The Misters Kuru: A Return to Mahabharata, which feature mythological characters dropping down from heaven into modern-day Delhi.

Trisha won an Indian National Film Award and was a visiting artist at the University of Michigan, New York University, INSEAD and Emory College. Her films have been widely screened at international film festivals, telecast on television, and have helped propel funding for grassroots social change across India.

Beauty Queens of Bishan

By Akshita Nanda (Penguin Random House India, INR 399)

Akshita Nanda’s new novel captures the essence of the Indian diaspora in Singapore through humour, rivalry and community. A light-hearted story, Beauty Queens of Bishan centres around the beauty parlours of Bishan, the busiest suburb of Singapore, where the rich and middle-class all come together.

Here, 13 small beauty parlours co-exist quietly, offering haircuts, bikini waxes and facials at no-nonsense prices. All that changes when a swanky new salon opens. D’Asthetique is run by April Chua, the stylist to the stars. The only person who dares to stand up against April is the chubby Gurpreet Kaur, owner of Monty Beauty Spa. Both have clients in the upcoming Glam Singapore Beauty contest. Will April’s shoe-in Candy Kang prove yet again why she is Singapore’s sweetheart? Or will Gurpreet’s client, Tara Chopra, prove a star on stage as well as in court?

About the author: Akshita Nanda is a journalist and analyst who focuses on health, migration and the ocean. This is her second novel after Nimita’s Place, which was adapted for the stage in 2019 by Singapore arts group. Akshita co-won the prestigious Singapore Literature Prize for English fiction in 2020.