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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JUNE 28, 2024 | The Indian Eye 20

In her debut novel ‘EDISON’, Pallavi Dixit

creates a Bollywood-style love story

OUR BUREAU
Edison, NJ
he debut novel from the win-
ner of the Asian American
TWriters’ Workshop Pages in
Progress Prize is the township of
Edison’s first community-wide read.
Third State Books is proud to an-
nounce the release of EDISON by
Pallavi Sharma Dixit, a hilariously en-
tertaining Bollywood-style love story
in the guise of literary fiction set in
the eponymous New Jersey township
known as “Little India.”

Leaning into the inspiration,

setting and title of the novel,
EDISON has been named the
first community-wide read for
the township of Edison during

the Summer of 2024: “Edison
Reads EDISON: A Reading Col-
laboration with the Township of
Edison, NJ.”

The campaign will feature a me-
dia event with Edison, NJ, Mayor ative Writing from the University of
Sam Joshi, as well as programming Massachusetts, Amherst, grew up in
with the Edison Chamber of Com- Edison. “I was inspired by my love
merce, the Edison Public Library, of Bollywood films and the unique
and the local Barnes & Noble. community of Edison, where I spent
The debut novel from Dixit, my youth and still have deep connec-
EDISON won the first annual Asian tions. Writing the novel allowed me
American Writers’ Workshop Pages to bring that magical, hardscrabble
in Progress Prize. Third State Books world of New Jersey’s ‘Little India’
was a co-sponsor, along with Plymp- to the page.”
ton, of this unique AAPI fiction EDISON, which published on
contest held in the spring of 2023. June 4, 2024, is a love story brim-
“One of our main goals with Third ming with song and dance, action
State Books is to discover new Asian and comedy, a love triangle, an angry
Americanvoices and fast-track them parent, an evil villain, and cameos by
into becoming published authors,” real Bollywood stars. Along the way,
said Stephanie Lim, Co-Founder and we glean bits of Indian film history
CEO of Third State Books. “Through and fall in love with an improbable
the process of being involved in cast of characters who inhabit Edi-
AAWW’s contest, we were able to son, one of the largest and most di-
discover Pallavi’s amazing work, and verse South Asian cultural hubs in
it was immediately clear that this was pact with books by and about Asian moves very slowly, but we feel an ur- the United States.
a novel we wanted to publish.” Americans, and this is exactly the gency to make up some much needed Chitra Divakaruni, author of the
Charles Kim, Co-Founder and kind of approach we want to take— ground when it comes to publishing bestselling novel Mistress of Spices,
President of Third State Books, finding and developing talent and Asian American stories by Asian exclaims that “EDISON is a charm-
added, “We are a new independent moving fast to get it into the hands American authors.” ing, often hilarious novel brimming
publisher focused on making an im- of readers. Publishing traditionally Dixit, who holds an MFA in Cre- Continued on next page... >>

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