Who is Rose on the Threshold?

I’m Shreya Ila Anasuya, a writer and researcher of the speculative and the sublime.

I’m from Calcutta, India, and based in London in the United Kingdom.

My fiction has been published in Magic Has No Borders (HarperCollins US), Infinite Constellations: Speculating Us (University of Alabama Press/FC2), A Case of Indian Marvels: Dazzling New Stories from the Country’s Finest New Writers (Aleph Book Co), Magical Women (Hachette India), The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, and Sword and Kettle Press.

I write about history, myth and folklore, the supernatural, liminality, grief, music and the senses, and cultural memory.

Non-fiction and reportage has featured in a wide variety of publications, including major national publications in India, and beyond.

I wrote a long essay on Umrao Jaan, the fictional protagonist of a 19th century novel by Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa, one of India’s most unforgettable literary heroines. It was originally published by Context/Westland publishers from Amazon Kindle in 2021, and is available for free on this newsletter.

My work (the short story ‘Gul’) has been adapted for the stage and performed in five cities across India. Aside from writing the original short story, I also narrated it for the stage alongside live music and dance.

I am currently a PhD candidate at King’s College London, where I look at the intersection of performance and storytelling by and about courtesans in early 20th century India.

My work has been recognised with an Otherwise Fellowship, a Sangam House international residency, the British Science Fiction Association longlist, the Toto Award for Creative Writing, and several UNFPA/Population First Laadli Media Awards, among others.

Latest appearances have included the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Get in touch

I am available for commissions, collaborations, workshop facilitation, and public speaking. In order to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website.

I am especially interested in short fiction commissions, as well as in book reviews and arts/culture essays.