Somaiya Daud, debut author of YA sci-fi book Mirage, was the very first author I ever interviewed for First Draft Podcast. We had a lot to catch up on since then, so listen now to hear about Somaiya’s bumpy path to publication that ultimately had a happy ending.
LINKS AND TOPICS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Throughout her writing career Somaiya’s writing become more genre forced aka more “J. R. R. Tolkien and less William Gibson.”
When cosplaying form the Victorian era they say that no one would cosplay Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens you would cosplay Emma by Jane Austen
Somaiya did her Masters thesis on One Thousand and One Nights by Muhsin Mahdi (Editor), Husain Haddawy (Translator)
Somaiya’s dissertation is on Historiography and Translation Theory
Sarah grafts what Somaiya’s is studying onto her love for Star Wars (Film)
Alloy Entertainment, a book packager that produced Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries
Somaiya and her former agent were approached by Alloy Entertainment for Mirage as a project
Chelsea Grimmer is the host of The Poetry Vlog, a show in which people discuss poetry and pop culture
Somaiya Daud on The Poetry Vlog where she talked about how Science Fiction is studied academically versus how it is perceived in pop culture
Provincializing Europe by Dipesh Chakrabarty, talks about the ways in which Europe’s idea of modernization was in part built on the idea that the rest of the world was caught in a historical waiting land
Somaiya read Consorts of the Caliph by Ibn Al-Sa’i when implementing poetry into the Mirage
Ex Machina (film)
Joanna Volpe,President and literary agent at New Leaf Literary agency
SUBSCRIBE TO FIRST DRAFT WITH SARAH ENNI
Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent, Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender, or John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works.
Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free!
RATE, REVIEW, AND RECOMMEND
How do you like the show?
Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you!
Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do?
Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post!
Thanks again!