Sarah Thankam Mathews

Sarah Thankam Mathews is an Indian-American author, novelist, and organizer. Her debut novel, All This Could Be Different, was a finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Fiction.

Sarah Thankam Mathews
Born
Bangalore, India
Notable work"All This Could Be Different"

Personal life

Mathews was born in Bangalore, India to Malayali parents.[1] Her parents quickly moved with her to Muscat, Oman where she was raised in a tight-knit Indian enclave.[1]

She moved to Wisconsin with her family when she was 17.[1][2][3] She was a member of the class of 2017 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[4] At Madison, she served as president of the Wisconsin Union Directorate.[5][6] She lived in Milwaukee from 2013-2014.[7]

Mathews began her career in progressive politics at a public-affairs firm in Washington D.C.[8] She quit her job to pursue an MFA in writing.[8] After receiving her MFA, she worked many freelance jobs in New York City, including in graphic design, web design, project management, freelance writing, and as a personal assistant.[8][9] She lost work and income when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, causing her to go on unemployment and putting her process of becoming a naturalized US citizen at risk.[8] It was during this time that she wrote her debut novel and began a mutual-aid organization—at the same time.[8]

She currently lives in Brooklyn and considers Kerala to be her ancestral home.[1]

Writing career

In 2020, Mathews was a Margins Fellow at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and a Rona Jaffe Fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[10][2] She also received The Best American Short Stories 2020 award.[11][10] She worked on a novel for seven years—which she used for her MFA thesis—and ultimately put it aside.[8][1] She now calls it "Novel Zero."[1] The next novel she worked on, All This Could Be Different, became her debut novel and was published in 2022.[8]

All This Could Be Different

In 2022, she published her debut novel All This Could Be Different. The novel was received with critical acclaim and was a finalist in the 2022 National Book Awards.[2] Mathews did not receive the award, which has never been won by a South Asian author.[1]

The novel centers a South Asian queer protagonist who is navigating love, friendship, and career in Milwaukee during the Great Recession and the Obama presidency.[2][12][13] Elements of it reflect the author's own life as a queer South Asian immigrant to the US.[14]

Mathews began writing the novel in the summer 2020 when she was 29 years old and surviving on unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] She wrote it at the same time that she was launching a mutual aid organization called Bed-Stuy Strong.[8][1] She completed the novel in 4 months, found an agent in November 2020, and sold it at auction.[8][1]

Organizing

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mathews helped to create Bed-Stuy Strong, a grassroots mutual-aid organization that raised $1.2 million to serve its Brooklyn-based community.[10] She came up with the idea when talking with her neighbor, a native of Bedford-Stuyvesant while COVID-19 cases and quarantines were just beginning to spike in the US.[8] She began organizing by creating a Slack network which she marketed through neighborhood flyers.[8]

The organization ultimately helped 28,000 people living in Brooklyn who were suffering from food crisis during the pandemic.[10][1] The organization's primary aid service was grocery delivery.[10][1]

Published works
  • (2018) The Love Song of G. Madhvi Suresh. Platypus Press Shorts.
  • (2022) All This Could Be Different. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-593-48912-3

References
  1. P, Jinoy Jose (2022-10-18). "'Same-sex love has always existed, and it is a part of life'". frontline.thehindu.com. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  2. Kumar, Arun (2022-10-11). "Sarah Thankam Mathews among 2022 National Book Awards finalists". The American Bazaar. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  3. "Pride Spotlight: Sarah Thankam Mathews' Novel and Politics Prove She Believes 'All This Could Be Different'". Observer. 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  4. Provost, Megan. "The Roaring Twenties | On Wisconsin". Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  5. Mathews, Sarah Thankam. "This Land Is Our Land, Donald Trump". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  6. "New officers and directors share why WUD is special | Terrace Views". Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  7. "Milwaukee stars in National Book Award finalist 'All This Could Be Different'". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  8. Gould, Emily (2023-01-26). "Sarah Thankam Mathews Wrote Her Hit Novel in Four Months". Vulture. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  9. Legaspi, Althea (2022-08-07). "How the Pandemic Allowed One Author to Affect Change in Her Community and Reinvent Her Debut Novel". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  10. "Sarah Thankam Mathews' Debut Novel, 'All This Could Be Different,' Isn't Your Average Coming-of-Age Book". Shondaland. 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  11. "Malayali novelist Sarah Thankam Mathews shortlisted for America's prestigious literary prize". OnManorama. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  12. "Sarah Thankam Mathews' 6 favorite books about life-changing experiences and self discovery". The Week. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  13. "Sarah Thankam Mathews Has Written One of the Buzziest, Most Human Novels of the Year". Vogue. 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  14. "Sara Thankam Mathews' 'All This Could Be Different'". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
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