Q&A: Ten for The TEN with Radhika Sanghani
Powerhouse author who's here to slay
One of the magnificent things about launching The TEN has been the opportunity to learn more about so many amazing writers, and their respective journeys.
Creative powerhouse Radhika Sanghani is one such writer. She’s the author of many adult, YA and children’s novels, as well as a screenwriter and journalist.
Her most recent novel, and her first for middle-grade children, The Girl Who Couldn't Lie, hit the shelves in May. It tells the story of 12-year-old people pleaser Priya, whose life turns upside down when her grandma leaves her a magic bangle that means she can no longer tell a single lie.
Next month, Radhika’s first YA book, Here To Slay, featuring a queer Indian protagonist called Kali inspired by Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Hindu mythology, will be published. (If that premise doesn’t get you hooked, I don’t know what will).
Her adult novels include, Virgin, Thirty Things I Love About Myself, Not That Easy and I Wish We Weren't Related, which was published last year.
She’s writes regularly for the Daily Telegraph, Elle, Guardian, Grazia, Glamour and Cosmo, and has been featured in Italian Vogue, as well appearing on Radio 4’s Woman's Hour. In 2018, she gave a TedX talk on the subject of body positivity.
That’s not all. Oh no. I told you that Radhika is as powerhouse and I wasn’t exaggerating. She’s also a 2020 BBC Writers Room graduate, and has written episodes of Malory Towers, based on the Enid Blyton books, for CBBC.
Here, Radhika talks about how her creative engine is driven by a near death experience, why she loves writing YA fiction, and the importance of finding a schedule that suits you.
So get comfortable because this is a great read that speaks to the power of writing stories and characters you truly believe in.
“I'd suggest writing the best thing you can - and really making sure your authentic voice comes through.”
Thanks for talking to The TEN, Radhika. There’s so much ground to cover but can you first tell me a little about your background and career trajectory?
I started thinking about journalism while I was still finishing my undergrad in English at UCL. Everyone around me had internships lined up but I had no contacts and none of the newspapers I'd applied to said yes, so I decided to find an internship abroad at an English-language newspaper in Santiago, Chile.
I only had A Level Spanish so it was tough but it was the best decision I ever made, because I learnt so much and every interviewer I’ve had since has been really impressed with it!
After that I did an MA in Newspaper Journalism at City University, then got onto the Daily Telegraph grad scheme. I worked at that paper for six years on the features desk, then left to go freelance in 2017. I've been a freelance journalist ever since, for newspapers and magazines. But along the way, I’ve also written novels and done screenwriting.
When did you first realise that you wanted to write books, and how long did it take before your debut novel, Virgin, was published?
I wrote Virgin back in 2013, when I was in my early twenties. I'd been at the Telegraph for less than a year, and I had a near-death experience in a bus crash in Thailand.
It made me realise life is short and I wanted to live my dreams before it was too late. So whilst I was recovering from PTSD, I wrote Virgin. It’s a comedy and I found it very healing to write at the time.
I never intended to publish it but when I finished a month later, I thought it was quite good so I managed to get an agent (by literally Googling 'how to get an agent' and doing what it said). She found me a publishing deal a few months later. It was all quite fast.
Your first middle-grade children’s book The Girl Who Couldn’t Lie, was published in May of this year. Can you explain the premise and also what inspired it?
I've written four adult novels but The Girl Who Couldn't Lie is my first children's novel. It came about because a publisher got in touch and said she liked my adult books and thought I could write a good kids' one.
I'd never thought of doing that, but her words stayed in my head and a few months later I had the idea for the book, which is all about a 12-year-old people pleaser, Priya Shah, who gets stuck in a magical bangle that means she can't lie.
It's all about the joys of honesty and vulnerability, and I wrote it for my younger self.
It’s a busy year for you because hot on the heels of The Girl that Couldn’t Lie comes your first YA novel, Here to Slay. Can you explain its rather wonderful premise?
I had so much fun writing this book! It's my first teen novel, and it's inspired by Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Hindu mythology - featuring a queer Indian protagonist called Kali.
When she's 16, she learns that all teen girls called Kali are demon slayers, following in the footsteps of the Hindu goddess of death, Kali. And if that's not bad enough, the demons hunt and find the Kalis whenever they have their periods.
So far, it's just a stand-alone book, but I would love for it to be a TV show one day, so fingers crossed!
You’ve published seven books including last year’s adult novel, I Wish We Weren't Related, but what is it about writing YA novels that appeals to you?
I have so much fun writing YA and children's books, I think because I can just let my imagination go crazy and see what happens.
I find it really freeing, joyful and fun, maybe because I’m connecting to my younger self. I try and use my books to share the messages I wish I’d known back then, with today's younger generations.
“I really believe in the importance of representation and it's very important to me to own my heritage and make sure it's reflected in my writing.”
You’re a 2020 BBC Writers Room graduate. What was that experience like and can you share any tips in regard to getting accepted?
I first thought about screenwriting five years ago when I was working on my novel Thirty Things I Love About Myself, because I kept imagining it as a TV show. All the characters and scenes felt so visual in my mind, and I decided to write a screenplay of it.
I had no idea if it would be any good, but with the encouragement of a colleague who worked in TV, I decided to use it to apply for the BBC's Writers Room - a programme for aspiring screenwriters.
I got into the comedy Writers Room and really loved it; it was a great way to learn more about the reality of screenwriting and also to get opportunities that can turn into paid work. It's how I got an opportunity that led to me being a screenwriter for CBBC's Malory Towers.
If you want to apply, I'd suggest just writing the best thing you can, and really making sure your authentic voice comes through. Don't get put off by how popular it is. Just believe in your writing and give it a try.
As a British Indian, how does your heritage inform your writing and do you feel some responsibility to lean into it?
It's interesting because when I first started writing fiction, my first two novels didn't feature British Indian protagonists. I hadn't seen characters like me in the books I was writing, so I made mine white.
But as I got older and wrote my later novels, I knew I wanted characters who looked like me. I now really believe in the importance of representation and it's very important to me to own my heritage and make sure it's reflected in my writing.
Can you talk us through how you found your agent, and what that relationship means to you?
I found my agent Madeleine Milburn back in 2013 when I'd just finished writing Virgin. I used her normal submissions process on her website, and we signed together shortly afterwards.
She'd just founded her own agency and it was really small, but it's grown massively since then, which has been amazing to see. It also meant that when I decided to do children's books, I already had a children's agent through the agency in Chloe Seager, which has been great.
Following on, can you tell me what it’s been like to work with your publisher, Knights Of, described as an ‘award-winning independent publisher of inclusive children’s books’?
Knights Of is the first publisher I've worked with that has had such a focus on inclusion and diversity. They're much smaller than the other publishers I've signed with in the past, but I chose to sign with them for Here To Slay because I really believe in their ethos and message.
And finally, can you describe your typical writing routine?
When I'm writing or editing a book, I normally work a few hours a day. I can't do more than four hours of creative work without going mad. I prefer to work from a cafe, so will spend half my time there each day and then the other half at home.
When I'm doing journalism, I can work a longer day. I’ve really learnt to listen to my body and to my brain, and honour my working patterns without just doing a 9-5 one size fits all. I’ve found it makes me much more productive and also stops burnout!
The Girl Who Couldn’t Lie is out now.
Here to Slay is out September 5.
