Making Their Debut
Presented with Goat Hill Writers
Goat Hill Writers presents three debut writers – Catharine Murray (Now You See the Sky), Nisha Sharma (My So-Called Bollywood Life), and A. K Small (Bright Burning Stars) – in a lively discussion with Ann Hood. From completing the manuscript to signing with an agent, finding a publisher, and navigating the ever-changing landscape of book marketing, promotion, and press, these writers of fiction and memoir will share their journeys to becoming first-time published authors.
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Catharine H. Murray lives with her two sons in Portland, Maine where she teaches English to immigrants and refugees. She leads workshops on grief writing and has read at Harvard University, Maine Medical Center, University of New England, Maine State Prison and the Hays Library in Bangkok. Murray earned her BA at Harvard and her MFA at the Stonecoast Writing Program at the University of Southern Maine where she was the Creative Non-fiction Editor of the Stonecoast Review. Now You See the Sky is her debut memoir
Nisha Sharma is the author of the YA rom-com My So-Called Bollywood Life and The Takeover Effect, the first in an adult romance trilogy. She grew up immersed in Bollywood movies, eighties pop-culture and romance novels, so it comes as no surprise that her work features all three. Her writing has been praised by NPR, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Buzzfeed, Hypable and more. Movie rights for My So-Called Bollywood Life have been optioned by Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice) and Susan Cartsonis (Freaky Friday the Musical, The Duff, Middle School is the Worst). She lives in New Jersey with her Alaskan-born husband, her cat Lizzie Bennett and her dog Nancey Drew. You can find her online at www.nisha-sharma.com or on Twitter and Instagram @nishawrites.
A.K. Small is a French-American writer. She’s a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s attended literary events such as Bread Loaf, One Story, and Writers-In-Paradise. She was the 2016 YA Aspen Summer Words Fellow and a scholar at Writers-In-Paradise, 2017. Her debut novel Bright Burning Stars is coming out May 21, 2019 with Algonquin Young Readers. You can find an excerpt at EW.com. Her newest short story, Anthrocon, 2017, was nominated for a Pushcart prize and can be found in the Bellevue Literary Review in their new displacement issue.