Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Agent, graphic novel, harper ali, HarperAlley., Nabi H. Ali, shakti, SJ Sindu

Shakti, a New Graphic Novel by SJ Sindu & Nabi H Ali From HarperAlley

Shakti is the debut graphic novel written by SJ Sindu, and drawn by Nabi H. Ali. The middle-grade graphic novel follows an Indian-American girl who unleashes the power of the Hindu goddess Kali Ma when she confronts a coven of mean-girl witches. Shakti was acquired by Clarissa Wong at HarperAlley and is slated to be published in the summer of 2023.

On Twitter, Nabi responded to the announcement, saying to SJ "So looking forward to working on this with you!! I think the subject is too perfect of a fit for me, it was like a dream when I first saw the premise." SJ replied "I felt the same when I saw your art. As soon as I came across your Twitter profile I was like, that's it. That's the artist this story needs."

SJ Sindu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough. A Tamil diaspora author and educator, her first novel, Marriage of a Thousand Lies, won the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction, the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Debut Fiction and was selected by the American Library Association as a Stonewall Honor Book. Her second novel, Blue-Skinned Gods, is forthcoming in 2021 from Soho Press.

Nabi H. Ali is an illustrator who is having quite a week, as he is also confirmed as the artist on the new Ms Marvel original graphic novel from Marvel Comics.

SJ Sindu's agents Erin Harris and John Cusick at Folio Literary and Nabi H. Ali's agent James Burns at the Bright Agency represented the creators.

HarperAlley is a graphic novel imprint launched from HarperCollins Children's Books under the direction of former art director and acquiring editor at First Second, Andrew Arnold last year, described as a "collaborative, creator-focused publisher" that will specialize in graphic novels for "readers of all ages." The new line is "looking to publish books that readers of all ages can enjoy, from the youngest readers to teens and adults. We believe that a good story is a story that any reader can relate to. That's what we mean when we say "readers of all ages." HarperAlley is looking to publish about ten books a season, or about thirty books a year and is one of a number of mainstream book publishers that has been rapidly increasing the number of graphic novels for younger readers.

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