Celebrating Diversity: What it Means When Your Niche Book Gets Nominated for an Award

So, I'm a primary care physician at a busy practice and last Wednesday was a typical day for me, with the normal chaos at work.

Midway through the day, I sat down for a breather and found that the Anthony Award nominees had been announced.

I love these announcements when a writer's hard word and persistence pays off with recognition, and therefore I did what I usually do. I went down the list and congratulated my mutuals.

Best Hardcover

Best First Novel

Best Paperback

Best Non-fiction

Best Anthology

Best Historical

Best Short story

Best Paranormal

Best Cozy/Humorous

And then... I found myself tagged in one of the posts.

What???

This lead me to take a closer look at the accompanying image.

And there it was!

My debut YA thriller When Mimi Went Missing nominated for Best YA/Children's novel!!

I wish I could capture that moment forever. All I remember is being frozen in my chair with a weird sense of weightlessness. Then I put my phone down, walked around, then returned to the post.

Because it couldn't be true.

My book barely got any hype. It had been mentioned on a few anticipated lists but not any "Best of". It hasn't been a top pick or been a favorite. True, my editor and agent loved it (and I adore them for that). True, several of my readers have approached me and told me they loved it, but they were mostly people I knew loved me, too.

And while my book launch at Sidetrack bookstore in Royal Oak, MI, was well attended, I had one event where one person showed up.

The mantle of imposer syndrome sat heavy on my shoulders and I was truly terrified I'd be revealed as a fraud. This fifty-something immigrant pouring her heart into stories in a language she wasn't born into.

But then there it was! An Anthony Award nomination!

It's been three days now but it still hasn't sunk in yet. I wrote this book because I wanted to read a Young Adult suspense novel with main characters from the South Asian diaspora.

Where my Brown girls were represented front and center on the cover.

Where the characters were not confined within narrows stereotypical boxes of how an Indian American kid was supposed to behave and act and think.

Where kids who fall outside these stereotypes could still feel represented and feel like that they belonged within the community.

Where mental illness, which is often seen as a stigma, could be represented and accepted. Where a kid who felt alienated and inadequate could draw on their own unrealized strength and emerge strong. On their own terms. Their wings spread. Proud in their skin. Proud of their ethnicity. Unapologetic. Defiant.

And now this book is an Anthony Award nominee...

I am so very grateful to my fellow book people and my writing community for this nomination.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and see you in NOLA this September!