How far would you go for a piece of the American dream?
A magical realist coming-of-age story, Gold Diggers skewers the model minority myth to tell a hilarious and moving story about immigrant identity, community, and the underside of ambition. Soon to be a Mindy Kaling TV series, Sanjena Sathian’s astonishing debut offers a fine-grained, profoundly intelligent, and bitingly funny investigation into what’s required to make it in America.
In this event, award-winning author Sanjena Sathian and Dickinson College Professor Sheela Jane Menon discuss this dazzling coming-of-age story that speaks to anyone who ever wondered quite how they belong, and who ever dreamed of being the very best they could be.
Featured Book: Gold Digger by Sanjena Sathian
Event Guidelines:
This event is free and open to the public. All events will take place at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore. Seating is general admission; first come, first served. Registration, masks, and proof of vaccination are not required for this event. A public book signing will immediately follow the discussion. Purchasing an author’s new or previously published book from the Midtown Scholar Bookstore is required for entry to the signing line. (Additional copies of a book, purchased elsewhere, may also be signed if time permits). Sales receipt or proof of purchase will need to be presented to staff at the entrance to the signings.
About the Speakers:
A Paul and Daisy Soros fellow, Sanjena Sathian is a 2019 graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She has worked as a reporter in Mumbai and San Francisco, with nonfiction bylines for The New Yorker,The New York Times, Food & Wine, The Washington Post, Vox, TIME, and more. Her award-winning short fiction has been published in The Atlantic, Conjunctions, Boulevard, Joyland, Salt Hill, and TheMaster’s Review.
Sheela Jane Menon is Assistant Professor of English at Dickinson College. Her research centers questions of race and identity in Malaysian literature, and is informed by her upbringing in Malaysia, Singapore, and Honolulu. Her current book project examines how Malaysian and Indigenous writers are reimagining multicultural citizenship through a new archive of cultural texts. Sheela Jane's writing has been published in ARIEL, Verge, The Diplomat, The Conversation, and New Mandala. She is proud to be considered a friend of Midtown Scholar Bookstore!
