Maya Prasad

Magic arrived at my doorstep last week, ARCs (advance reader copies) of our beautiful anthology. And wow, are they gorgeous! The colors of Sarah J. Coleman's cover artwork are even richer and more textured in person, and of course just holding the book as a real, tangible thing felt so momentous. All I could think was: my words are held in these pages, my words are held in these pages.From the digital project to this print edition, I am so incredibly proud to be a part of this collection with so many other talented writers. "Bold New Voices" indeed. The love and tireless work that went in by Emily X.R. Pan, Nova Ren Suma and the entire Foreshadow team has not gone unnoticed. Cynthia Leitich Smith, I grin whenever I look at that lovely introduction you wrote.(Superstars, all of you. Thank you for everything.)

On top of that the reviews have been rolling in--reviews from readers and professional reviews. Kirkus called Foreshadow "ingenious" and "a master clas…

We now have a gorgeous cover for our anthology, Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA. Huge thanks to Sarah J. Coleman for her gorgeous design!

Behind every glossy cover reveal is a journey, and usually a twisting one. In the case of Foreshadow, there are so many journeys, with thirteen short stories as well as craft discussions from our fearless editors. I can say that from start to finish, working on this project has been an unequivocal joy.

Our stories are all YA but they span genres and styles. We represent a multitude of backgrounds. When I read the first pass pages recently, it all seriously took my breath away.

In the craft essays, Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma have taken a deep dive into each story to draw attention to the pearls within. Our words have been treated like precious bits of treasure, and it means the world to me. There is a lot of passion and imagination here, and I hope readers will come away from this book with a burning need to…

Hey folks, I'm excited to share here a YA spec fic short story I wrote about two high school seniors navigating our current pandemic. Naturally, it also includes parallel timelines, a black hole, and a sweet love story. 

If you enjoy it, please share and spread the word. Thank you!

CW: domestic abuse
QUANTUM QUARANTINE by Maya Prasad It’s Friday, March 13th at 3:45pm, just minutes after the eighth period bell. I shuffle down to the basement in building C of Adams High, my bag heavy with textbooks, my anxiety its own formidable weight. As if a supermassive black hole is located in my chest, sucking the whole of the cosmos into one dense point in my heart. There was supposed to be a biology test last period, but Ms. Rodriguez canceled it. “All things considered, I don’t think we’re in the right mindset,” she said. We aren’t. Not with all schools in the state closing for a minimum of six weeks, not with the hopes of a careless spring semester dissolving like sugar in a cappuccino, not with…

A dream come true - my story "Princess" from Foreshadow: A Serial YA Anthology is going to print in fall 2020! I am so over the moon that Algonquin Young Readers will be releasing an anthology containing 13 New Voice stories from the digital project, along with craft essays and discussions by the amazing Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma. I am so in awe of the imagination and talent that was in each issue, and so honored to have my story placed alongside the fantastic other New Voices!

What a ride this year has been for me, and a lot of it stems from the attention that Foreshadow brought! I am enormously grateful for the all the tireless work and love that Nova and Emily and the rest of the Foreshadow team put into this project, how it was designed very carefully to bring new marginalized authors into the spotlight.

Special shout out to my editor, Trisha Tobias, for her savvy insights, and to Cynthia Leitich Smith for selecting my story and her lovely introduction! And of c…

It's Banned Books Week, where we celebrate freedom of information and books that have been banned by libraries, schools, etc. in an effort to suppress ideas and identities.

Since it's 2019 and we're living in divided times, I just feel that I need to point out that I feel strongly that schools, libraries, and society itself should not tolerate hate speech or books that perpetuate hate speech, nor should they give white supremacists a platform in any way. The celebration of Banned Books is meant to uplift everyone, especially the marginalized. It should not be twisted to mean that those who want to dominate society should be given more of a platform than they already have.

Historically, books have not been banned because of hate. They've been banned to suppress marginalized identities, ideas that critique governments, or speak to uncomfortable subjects such as sexual assault or even positive stories about sex. Those stories need to be told, because they are truth and bec…

Ah, it's been a busy summer of writing! I'm working on a YA rom-com that I hope to share more about when the time comes. For now, let's just say there's a lot of PNW love and a lot of island love, since it's set in the San Juans.

I also signed with my second agent over the summer! It turned out that my short story "Princess" from Foreshadow: A Serial YA Anthology opened some doors for me, paving the way for new opportunities and catching my agent's eye to boot.

I was honored to receive multiple offers, and since this was my second time selecting an agent, I had a better handle on what I really wanted and needed from one. I did some things differently than last time, which I thought I would share here in case it's helpful for anyone. (Dahlia Adler also had a great post about how the process of selecting an agent had changed for her too, which I encourage you to check out.)

1. Connection

I really wanted an agent that I could connect with on a pers…