- This is me. I used to go by Rahul, but I go by Naomi Kanakia now. It’s a process.
- I'm transgender. I use she/her pronouns.
- I am a novelist whose first book, Enter Title Here (yes, that's its real title), came out on August 2nd, 2016 from Disney-Hyperion. My second book, We Are Totally Normal, came out. March 31, 2020.
- Since the age of 18, I’ve been writing and submitting stories. Most of these have been science fiction and fantasy short stories. Here is my bibliography. A number of these stories have been published. If you want to read some, I guess I’d recommend Corridors (very short) and The Girl Who Escaped From Hell (a bit longer).
- I’ve been maintaining this blog since the summer of 2008 (though it’s only been regularly updated since about 2010). I used to blog on political topics, but nowadays I tend to steer clear of those. I mostly blog about books, my writing, and the writing life. Sometimes I write about more confessional topics, including my sobriety (ten years as of Jan 2020) and my sexuality and gender orientation.
- I'm super-tall (6' 7"). That's almost exactly two meters, for those of you who swing that way.
- I’m of Indian descent. My parents both grew up in Mumbai and came to the U.S. for graduate school.
- From summer of 2012 to spring of 2014, I lived in Baltimore (while I attended graduate school). Upon graduating, I moved to Berkeley, California. Now I live in San Francisco with my wife, a dog, a cat, and a daughter
- I quit smoking in the spring of 2011.
- I quit drinking in the winter of 2010. I consider myself to be a recovered alcoholic.
- My current literary agent is Christopher Schelling at Selectric Artists: christopher@selectricartists.com
You’re making me want to revise my bio!
Haha, thanks!
Great Bio, and a great Blog on getting published in the New Yorker Magazine. Smiles, Kevin
Thanks!
Thanks Rahul for speaking at the Los Altos High School writer’s week. It was fun to be your ‘escort’ for a day 😉 I am an educator myself and know what a challenge it is to engage 16 and 17 year olds. You did an amazing job! Goodluck with your book sales!
Thanks =] And thank you too for putting on the event. It was great.
Hey. First off thank you so much for your blog. Writing this from New Delhi. I was randomly googling Johns Hopkins MFA and found the series you had written on the application process. Also plan to apply using a science fiction writing sample. Just wanted to say that your blog posts were a huge help. Really I still think its kind of amazing I was able to find something as specific as your blog without even looking for it (MFA, science fiction friendly, South Asian/Indian writer). While I still have your attention, could I possibly trouble you with the writing sample I plant to use. its 10 pages long and so far the reviews have been mixed (“weird. It was disgusting” said one friend and “I liked it but I don’t know why” said another). You probably have a lot on your plate so I completely understand if it’s not possible but I’d be oh so happy etc :D. Thank you again.
Hey. First off thank you so much for your blog. Writing this from New Delhi. I was randomly googling Johns Hopkins MFA and found the series you had written on the application process. Also plan to apply using a science fiction writing sample. Just wanted to say that your blog posts were a huge help. Really I still think its kind of amazing I was able to find something as specific as your blog without even looking for it (MFA, science fiction friendly, South Asian/Indian writer). While I still have your attention, could I possibly trouble you with the writing sample I plant to use. its 10 pages long and so far the reviews have been mixed (“weird. It was disgusting” said one friend and “I liked it but I don’t know why” said another). You probably have a lot on your plate so I completely understand if it’s not possible but I’d be oh so happy etc :D. Thank you again.
Hi, I’m an aspiring SF writer as well as beginner blogger. Nice to meet you. Why haven’t you got a contact form on this site? -Matthew, from southwest England.
I used to have my email displayed, but then I redesigned it and now it’s not there anymore! Gotta do something about that.
Thank you for your blog about getting a short story published in the New Yorker. I’ve never read any previous such advice that was so common-sense and insightful. I hope your writing career’s going well and that you’re happy with it, since you’re clearly talented. Did you go to Johns Hopkins? I have a daughter who’s applied there but neither of us has ever been there.
Thanks! Yep, I went to Johns Hopkins for grad school. It was cool. Seems like a very tough place to do undergrad though. Hard grading. Lots of very driven pre-med students.
Hi Rahul,
I found your blog after reading “Sexual Cannibalism.” What a haunting story.
-Brittany
Nice! Happy you liked the story. I thought the story had just disappeared into the ether 🙂
I appreciate your straight-forward bullet points. Not yet ready to be that forthcoming myself, but I greatly expanded my own “about me” section. Look forward to reading more from you.
I just finished reading Enter Title Here less than five minutes ago. Loved it. HOLY SHIT!!!
I’m glad 😉
Your love of literature is infectious. I greatly enjoy this site and your generous insights.
Thank you!
Brendan Kiernan
Awww! That’s exactly what I want people to get from this site!
Ever thought of getting your eyebrows waxed?