[Reader-list] Spec-fic, the Indian diaspora, and Indian potential in multicultural speculative fiction

[samit basu]

The Great Indian Diaspora has always been a key topic of discussion
whenever the theme of Indian writing in English has come up. Many of
the world's most successful writers of Indian origin live outside the
subcontinent yet set their books there, and many critics feel this
harms the authenticity of their work. A lot of the criticism stems
from the fact that a number of serious literary writers from India are
also the most commercially successful writers from India, and the
uncomfortable relationship between the creation of literature and the
sale of literary products to well-defined markets is not something
most critics or writers seem to want to talk about – and hence every
aspect of the plot, the settings and language used by Indian writers
at home or abroad who work in and sell their works to Western markets
has been ruthlessly analyzed and criticized, often unfairly, for being
strung together to dupe susceptible readers . Diaspora writers who
write about India or Indians have also regularly been accused of
selling out, of peddling India to the West with over-exotic,
elephant/arranged-marriage/spices/maharaja-laden versions of India
that have nothing to do with reality, but bring them large advances,
of sitting in comfortable ignorance in the West and not truly
understanding the nation they are seen to be 'explaining' to the rest
of the world.
Fortunately for genre writers of Indian origin living outside India,
they are less likely to be accused of distorting reality, since that
is what they set out to do in the first place in order to understand
the real world better. Or of being overly exotic – how exotic is an
elephant when  placed next to a demon or a spaceship? Unfortunately
for them, they are unlikely to pick up huge advances from the literary
publishing world at this point, because the publishing market for
speculative fiction is a very different one from mainstream lit, and
while the mainstream fiction market is still eager for Indian fiction,
the speculative fiction world, which already has a fair number of
colourful, mysterious, fragrant otherworlds.
British diaspora writer William Dalrymple stirred up a good amount of
controversy recently with an Observer article where he claimed, among
other things, that the diaspora was the last brown hope as far as
Indian writing was concerned. While his views came in for some
stringent criticism and ridicule, even prompting writer Amit
Chaudhuri, that most literary of Indian litterateurs, to write
speculative fiction (in an article where he compared the planets
Dalrymple and he lived on), one observation he used while making his
claims was that most of India's most commercially successful and most
widely published authors spend a large chunk of their time outside
India – not noting, however, that this might have something to do with
the fact that in writing, as in all other jobs, access is important,
and resources flow to the places where they are optimally utilized.
In fact, what really most significantly differentiates the SFF writer
in the Indian diaspora and the Indian writer in India is access. SFF
is a very close-knit, community-driven market, possible even more so
than mainstream lit, and a lot of sales of manuscripts are made at
giant SFF conventions, where fans, editors, agents and writers gather
to celebrate all things speculative. While obviously the quality of a
work of fiction would determine its eventual future, the
practicalities are important too – it's impossible for even great
books to reach bookshelves unless they reach the right editor or agent
at the right time, and simply because there isn't a tradition of
Indian spec-fic publishing, it's difficult to establish one. While
opinions are widely divided on how relevant these conventions are for
writers to sell manuscripts to editors and thus get their work
published (completely essential, say some, no longer relevant, say
others, in the interviews that follow these essays), the fact remains
that Indian/South Asians in the diaspora are simply in a better place
as far as getting their work out is considered. Also very relevant is
the fact that apart from the leading names in children's fantasy
literature, contemporary, cutting-edge spec-fic is not widely
available in India at all. But these problems, while very real now,
will hopefully disappear, thanks largely to the Internet, over the
next few years. As conditions stand now, though, it is very likely
that if there is a genuine wave of Indian/South Asian speculative
writing over the next few years, it will be led by the diaspora. Of
course, the question that comes before this is whether writers in the
Indian diaspora are writing speculative fiction in large numbers in
the first place.


Mary Anne Mohanraj, US-based writer and founder of the Speculative
Literature Foundation:
"Most South Asian/diaspora authors I encounter seem more concerned
with writing mainstream 'literary' fiction.  In part this is simply
where their interests lie -- in part, I wonder whether some of the
leanings in that directions come out of a desire for respectability.
Making your living as a writer is generally not one of the acceptable
career tracks for an ambitious South Asian, and it may be that many
authors are
afraid to venture into sf/f for fear of even more mockery from the
relatives.  But that's pure speculation on my part -- it may be just
that most South Asian/diaspora authors didn't grow up reading and
loving spec fic, and so it doesn't occur to them to try writing it."

"Cecilia Tan and I tried to pitch an Asian companion volume to _Dark
Matter_ (an anthology of speculative fiction from the African
diaspora) some years ago, and were told that the publisher didn't
think there was a sufficient market for it.  Maybe in a few years..."

But hopes of a wave of SFF writing from the diaspora aren't entirely
speculation even at this point. Already, a few writers living in the
US like Vandana Singh and Anil Menon have established their presence
in the SF community, getting short stories published in leading genre
magazines, and in the process of finishing their first speculative
fiction novels.
SFF author Vandana Singh, author of the Younguncle series of children's books:
"I think there is definitely an interest in seeing something new.
Unfortunately Americans in general are sadly uninformed about India
and what little they know is often caricatured and stereotyped beyond
recognition.  In addition there are a lot of Western SF writers who
have used Indian characters or settings in their stories, sometimes
honestly and sometimes with a hostility that harks back to the old
colonial British hack writers of penny-dreadfuls.  An Indian SFF
writer thus has to overcome all these stereotypes.  One of the things
that helps is that writers of colour in North America are getting
together across ethnicities --- African-Americans, South Asians ---
forming groups like the Carl Brandon Society that gives out its own
rewards to people or writings that focus on issues of race --- or
publishing anthologies like So Long Been Dreaming that are being
treated seriously by SFF critics and academics alike.  So I think
there is a lot of hope and new interest, now, in expanding the
boundaries of SFF.  We have more and more Indian names popping up.
For instance there is Anil Menon --- remember his name, you will see
it again!  And emerging others who are going to Clarion workshops,
working away at their stories, getting ready to see their names in
print. "
"It is true that in the West the SFF culture has developed an enormous
fan base and also great support for new, emerging and established
writers, through conventions and writers' workshops.  There is no
reason why these things cannot be organized in India, where we already
have traditions like the literary mehfil.  Even in the US conventions
and workshops arose as ideas dreamed up by penniless writers (probably
over coffee at 3 am), evolving from a very small scale to epic
proportions (the last Worldcon I attended in Boston had at least 5000
participants).  I think we have to start small, with writers getting
together in neighborhoods and localities and giving honest critiques
of each others' works.  The next steps may include launching
small-press magazines or ezines for publishing outstanding works,
holding conventions, doing readings at bookstores to popularize SF and
generating fan newsletters. "
"We can consider Japanese SF as an example.  Now Americans generally
think the world revolves around them, and unfortunately this is mostly
true of American SFF writers and editors as well.  But lately I've
been hearing more and more about Japanese SF in US publications, and
of American SF writers going to Japanese SF conventions.  (The next
Worldcon is in Japan, by the way.)  I am no expert on the history of
Japanese SF but I really think that creating their own subculture of
SF helped put the Japanese on the world SF map.  There is no reason
why Indians can't do this as well.  Now, with the publication of the
international SF magazine Internova (from Germany) there is a real
interest among SF writers around the world (particularly Europe) to
find SF from all over the globe and publish it.  I have heard of SF
from Croatia and Argentina, from China and Sri Lanka.  Each SF
community enriches the whole. "
Indian-origin US-based SFF writer Anil Menon, is optimistic about the
future of South Asian SFF:

"If it wanted to, Indian SFF could kick some major ass. Indians
(south-asians) are born storytellers. The earliest speculative fiction
-- Jataka tales -- was home grown. We have the talent, we have the
untold stories and we have an audience -- mostly young and mostly
female -- sick of reading about cowboys in outer space. But we're like
the elephant who doesn't realize its an elephant. So we politely wait
for American or British editors to develop a taste for SFF with an
Indian flavor. That's not going to happen any time soon."

"But it doesn't matter. The way I see it, the future used to happen
exclusively in the US. It doesn't any more. The focus has shifted. The
future has been democratized. Look at what the Japanese did with
Manga. Suddenly, Superman is a 60 year old dude with a weird penchant
for wearing his underwear on the outside. We've as much a shot at
manufacturing the future as do the Americans. And we can probably do
it cheaper too."

"What's to prevent us from building websites like Strange Horizons,
which are entirely volunteer and donation driven? Why can't we start
small print-on-demand publishing houses? In the US, there's a lot of
resistance to publishing innovations, and for good reason: they could
lose their shirts. But heck, we are already broke; what do *we* have
to lose? Why can't we have our own Clarion India, conferences and
awards?"

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't address western audiences. Of course
we must. But sometimes it seems to me that we're like the dude who
went sailing around the world when the pot of gold lay right in his
backyard."

On breaking into the SF community and getting his stories into print:
" It's been a lot easier than I had expected. In my case, Clarion West
turned out to be the big break. I met a lot of writers and editors in
the six week program, got a lot of tips, and my writing improved. But
there was/is no secret handshake. I remember that Charles de Lint, who
was one of our instructors in 2004, was so impressed with a student's
story, he sent along a recommendation when she submitted it to Fantasy
& Science Fiction. It still got rejected. It's almost a cliche that
the key to good writing is rewriting. But equally important, a
successful submission is usually a resubmission."
"There's definitely a lot of interest. I've found my "Indian stories"
move a lot faster than the "ethnically neutral" ones. What I find in
most contemporary stories though is that the Indian-ness, if present,
tends to be an exotic touch; a character may have an Indian name, but
she/he could just as well be Irish-Eskimo."
Thomas Abraham, president, Penguin Books India:

On the probability of the diaspora leading an Indian SFF wave:

"I don't see why not. And not just the diaspora but from here. Leaving
aside conferences, access is pretty much available to everything else.
And even going with the notion that flights of imagination are still
inevitably rooted someway to cultural influences; we're now (at least
in urban India) definitely tech advanced for SF and have a mythology
that's definitely richer than Celtic folklore to be able to produce
world class fantasy. The problem is we need a basic readership here,
which I think will be available over the next 10 years. All those
Potter and Alfred Kropp readers will hopefully graduate into reading
SFF."
On Indian SFF writers needing to piggyback on Indian themes:
"Not as a generalization, but if they don't, they have to labour
against the prejudice that "there's nothing new here; this is
essentially a western universe". It's a bit of a catch-22 situation.
It would be far easier to position their work as rooted in their own
cultural contexts and try to break through on the exotica platform.
But conversely they would probably come up with the objection from
agents that this is too culturally alien to succeed in the west. But
that's now. Increasingly these barriers are being wiped out and
hopefully in ten years it won't matter."
 Critic, writer and prolific blogger (The Mumpsimus) Matthew Cheney:

"I think we're already seeing some exhaustion in the SF field with the
typical props and models of writing, and so U.S. and British writers
are looking elsewhere for ideas.  Also, we live in a world where it's
much easier to encounter people from outside our own countries, and to
gain information about places other than our own, and many readers
hunger for it.  Some of it may just be the attraction of exoticism,
but I think the success of
books like Tobias Buckell's "Crystal Rain", which mixes a variety of
influences in a traditional SF adventure story, or Ian MacDonald's
"River of Gods", which is more specifically Indian, bodes well for the
future, because such books show writers trying to bring an honest
sensibility about non-Western or post-colonial cultures into their
work,
and to do so in as honest a way as possible

Ashok Banker, author of the new Ramayana and the best-known name in
Indian SFF worldwide:

"We should be writing about our culture, our mythology, our people,
right? But then you look around at the US genre scene today: There are
fantasy novels with characters named after Indian characters, set in
places like Hastinapura and Ayodhya! There are references to Indian
myth, legend, history everywhere! You can hardly read a genre novel
today without encountering multi-cultural references...and I'm talking
about genre fiction written by white, European or American writers."

"By the same yardstick, why shouldn't it be acceptable for an Indian
or Asian writer to write a book using American characters or
European-Celtic elements? For that matter, why should subject matter
be restricted to a writer's own culture or nationality? A good writer
writes about anything he or she pleases, and should be free to do so."

"But try stepping across the same line that western writers step
across routinely and see the result. I don't think you'll find the
acceptance you accept, and it might often have nothing to do with the
quality of your writing or intrinsic strength of your book."

Jeff VanderMeer, award-winning SFF author (Shriek, City of Saints and Madmen):

"There's a difference between an artistic scene or movement and
getting attention and publicity for that scene or movement. No one
needs to rely on a diaspora to create original, innovative, and moving
work. The important thing is to focus on the work and to create
something powerful and important. Then, in the fullness of time, you
make people come to you. This is increasingly true considering we live
in an Internet age where everyone is just a click away."

"That said, I think it is imperative that non-English speaking
countries leverage the internet by creating website for the fiction of
their country, with translations into English. There's no avoiding the
fact that English is the language that dominates the marketplace
outside of Asia. But I do not believe you have to physically be in the
US or UK to be successful. It may be harder, but it is possible. You
just have to have people who are PR and market savvy in addition to
people producing amazing work."

Cheryl Morgan, writer, critic and blogger who runs online SFF magazine
Emerald City:

"Editors are always looking for something new, so if you can blend
South Asian culture and traditions into your writing it will help get
it noticed. Ashok Banker has had some success with that. I'm afraid I
don't know enough about South Asian writing to answer the last
question, but I do think that we will see more and more SF books set
in "Third World" countries from now on. There's a general view that
the American Economic Empire is on the wane, and that "the future"
will happen in India, China, South America and Africa. Ian McDonald's
_River of Gods_ has been a huge success - you guys should build on
that."

"Remember that Zoran Zivkovic has been very successful despite writing
in Serbian and never leaving Belgrade. He just got a good translator
and submitted stories to places like Interzone, and Jeff VanderMeer's
_Leviathan_ anthologies. Now he's won a World Fantasy Award and the
small presses all love him. There's nothing particularly Serbian
about Zoran's writing, he is just talented and has worked hard."