PRINT / ONLINE
Recent Highlights (2020-21)
-Tanuja selected this year to be a Good Morning America Inspiration List headliner for ABC’s network-wide project for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2021.
–Born Confused included in Best Asian-American Books in both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Public Library’s Recommended Reads
-Tanuja wrote the foreword to Untold: Defining Moments of the Uprooted anthology (Mango & Marigold Press, 2021), a nonfiction anthology featuring more than thirty new Brown womxn writers; Untold is a Vogue Magazine, Cosmopolitan, and LoudMouth Ladkis pick.
-Tanuja’s poetry included in Scholastic’s 100 Reasons to Love Reading (2020).
-featured in Scroll and Apartment Therapy
-featured on the The Woke Desi and 5 Author Questions (5AQ) podcasts.
-Recent events include Tasveer South Asian Litfest, CBS: Literary Mothers: Influence & Inspiration, Boca del Oro Festival (new work Muse of the Girl).
The Woke Desi presents: Tales With Tanuja
Tanuja on The Woke Desi podcast. Interview + her original music from both ‘booktrack’ albums.
Tanuja was recently included in Brown Girl Magazine’s top ten roundup of South Asian women for International Women’s Day 2020 (for writing about the immigrant experience and coming of age as a South Asian woman, and “creating a role model when there wasn’t one”) along with Mindy Kaling, Rupi Kaur, Jameela Jamil, Lilly Singh, Madame Gandhi, Deepica Mutyala, and Kavita Krishnan, as well as key historical firsts figures Noor Inayat Khan and suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh.
An ongoing series by writers/authors in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the publication of Tanuja’s landmark novel: David Levithan, Samira Ahmed, SJ Sindu, Sarvat Hasin, Carlie Sorosiak, Nisha Sharma, Donna Freitas, Sonali Dev, Christina Vortia, Marina Budhos.
- NBC NEWS: ‘Flagship’ South Asian Young Adult Novel Born Confused Still Resonates After 15 Years” by Lakshmi Gandhi (September 1, 2017)
- FIRSTPOST: ‘How One YA Novel Opened the Gates to Desi Representation in American Pop Culture” by Priya-Alika Eliyas (January 14, 2018)
- LITERARY HUB (“On the First South Asian YA Novel: Born Confused 15 Years Later: Tanuja in Conversation with Mitra Kalita”, October 16, 2017)
- BARNES & NOBLE (“6 YA Books That Have Voice for Days” by Sona Charaipotra, April 24, 2017)
- HORN BOOK (Bombay Blues a top pick for “Reading for Diwali 2017”, October 19, 2017)
- THE ATLANTIC (Born Confused historical mention in “What a Forgotten Kids’ Book Reveals About US Publishing”, by Pooja Makhijani, October 3, 2017)
- ON OUR MINDS/Scholastic – #WeHaveDiverseBooks: 5 Questions with author Tanuja Desai Hidier, by Brooke Shearouse, July 19th, 2017
- TEEN VOGUE (“8 Books With South Asian Characters to Read in 2017”, by Pooja Makhijani, April 27, 2017)
- BUSTLE.COM (“10 Books About the Search for Asian-American Identity” by Swapna Krishna, January 26, 2017)
- Dimple Lala named a top 5 character in MEET THE AUTHORS: Mitali Perkins, Author of You Bring The Distant Near – Interview + Giveaway
- BARNES & NOBLE – “And the winner is: Honoring This Year’s ALA Youth Media Awards and Remembering Winners of Yesteryear” by Sarah Hannah Gomez (January 25, 2017), on Born Confused‘s 2003 APALA Children and YA Honor Award
- BOOKRIOT (“7 YA Books I Need to See at the Movies or on TV” by Christina Vortia, November 5, 2016)
- PASTE MAGAZINE (“The 30 Best Young Adult Books of All Time” by Eric Smith, October 20, 2016)
- BUSTLE.COM (“8 South Asian YA Authors to Diversify Your Bookshelf” by Caitlin White, April 22, 2016)
- KHABAR MAGAZINE feature (“Dimple’s Blues in Bombay” by Devika Rao, August 2016)
- BARNES & NOBLE feature (“11 YA Authors Discuss the Role of Faith in Their Lives” by Michael Waters, July 18, 2016)
- SUGARSCAPE feature/review (“Ten Coming of Age Novels That Everyone Should Read” by Alison Umminger, June 1, 2016)
- THE PARIS REVIEW review of The Morning Papers tribute to Prince (including Tanuja’s tribute-in-lyrics), June 7, 2016
- THE AEROGRAM: Tanuja’s tribute-in-lyrics to Prince (‘Happy Birthday Prince!’, June 7, 2016)
- MEDIA DIVERSIFIED: Tanuja’s tribute-in-lyrics to Prince for The Morning Papers (“Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi woh Purple barsaat ki raat”, May 23, 2016)
- Brown Girl Magazine: Top 20 Must-Reads feature (October 5, 2015)
- THE SUNDAY GUARDIAN COVER STORY: “Bibliophiles Plug In” by Aditya Mani Jha (October 3, 2015)
- PEPSI/MTV INDIES buzz picks (“Heptanesia”): “An Exclusive Playlist Of Exclusive Indie Tracks” by Titus Pinto (September 28, 2015)
- PEPSI/MTV INDIES Buzz Special: “Heptanesia: The Story Behind the Song, by Tanuja Desai Hidier”
- 2015 SOUTH ASIA BOOK AWARD TO BOMBAY BLUES
- ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE (BORN CONFUSED a top 40 YA Novels of All Time (“When Holden Met Katniss”)
- BNTeen: “9 Must-Read YAs About Teens Finding Their Path (Not a Partner)” by Sona Charaipotra
(September 4, 2015)
- TIMES OF INDIA: Tanuja/“How I Start My Day” feature, as told to Nona Walia Walia (July 26, 2015) (VIEW JPEG)
- LIBAS INTERNATIONAL feature: “Losing Your Map” by Nishita Sharma (Volume 28 Issue 2, 2015) (View PDF)
- REFINERY29 top ten novels to turn to film: Born Confused, “These Ten Young Adult Books Might Become the Next Harry Potter” by Sulagna Misra (May 23, 2015)
- URBAN ASIAN feature: “The Voice of a Generation: How Tanuja Desai Hidier Helped Me Find My Voice” by Arpita Mukherjee (April 18, 2015)
- HELTER SKELTER COVER STORY (“Myth and Memory” by Aadya Shah (April 4, 2015)
- THE ASIAN AGE & DECCAN CHRONICLE feature: “Hyphenated Identity” by Arun Venkatraman (March 28, 2015, Bookshelf selection) (View PDF)
- HOMEGROWN interview: “#HGExclusive: Tanuja Desai Hidier Tells Us About The Journey Behind Writing ‘Bombay Blues’ & ‘Bombay Spleen’” by Aditi Dharmadhikari (January 27, 2015)
- HOMEGROWN playlist feature (*top three playlists ever): “Tanuja Desai Hidier creates a musical map to navigate her protagonist Dimple Lala’s world” (January 23, 2015)
- HINDUSTAN TIMES (Brunch Magazine “People” feature): “Being beige: In her new novel, Tanuja Desai Hidier uproots her American-Born-Confused-Desi heroine from New Jersey to Bombay” (January 18, 2015) by Anirudh Bhattacharyya (View PDF – Page 1 | Page 2)
- KIRKUS REVIEWS: Tanuja/Bombay Blues interview by Jessie Grearson
- THE WRITER MAGAZINE: “How I Write”/Tanuja interview by Jeff Tamarkin (View PDF)
- BROWN GIRL MAGAZINE: “Tanuja Desai Hidier Gives Voice to a Multicultural Generation”/Bombay Blues review by Aditi Mehta
- THE GUARDIAN feature: Top Ten Songs in Teen Novels: The Ultimate Young Adult Playlist by Ema O’Connor
- THE AEROGRAM feature: “‘Born Confused’ & ‘Bombay Blues’ Author Tanuja Desai Hidier on What ABCD Means to Her”
- BROWN GIRL MAGAZINE “Power Player of the Month” feature/Q&A: “Author Tanuja Desai Hidier Writes Sequel to ‘Born Confused’” by Syeda Hasan
- GAYYA feature plus Tanuja Desai Hidier’s “Dimple Lala/Bday Party Playlist” (May 7, 2015)
MORE ONLINE/PRINT PRESS
- INDIA ABROAD (cover story) – “When DJ Rekha Rocked a Generation” by Bhargavi Kulkarni (September 1, 2017)
- KAJAL MAGAZINE – “Saying Goodbye to Basement Bhangra and the End of an Era” by Nadya Agrawal, August 4, 2017
- WNYC – “After 20 Years, Basement Bhangra Says Bye to New York”, by Arun Venugopal, August 4, 2017
- QUARTZ (“What’s In the Box: Amazon has made a tiny change that’s great for readers and bad news for book publishers” by Thu-Huong Ha, May 11, 2017)
- Friend of Dorothy Wilde (Spotlight: On the Side: Kavita from Born Confused and Bombay Blues, December 7, 2016
- Dr Bickmore’s YA Wednesday feature (“Music & YA Literature”, November 2, 2016)
- The Silhouette (“Four Books By and About Women of Colour” by Amanda Watkins, March 3, 2016)
- INDIA.COM feature (“Author Tanuja Desai Hidier on her South Asia Book Award and the Future of South Asian Writing” by Keertana Sastry, January 12 2016)
- WRITER’S RELIEF: Interview With An Author (January 19, 2016)
- READING WHILE WHITE: Tanuja’s South Asia Book Award acceptance speech (November 5, 2015)
- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (South Asia Book Award piece, November 15, 2015)
- THE INDIAN EYE feature: Bombay Blues Wins 2015 South Asia Bok Award
- SherylParbhoo (“Top 10 Must-Read Women’s Multicultural Books”, June 10, 2015)
- MASALA MOMMAS feature (“On Writing and Diversity in Literature”, October 5, 2016)
- “Meet Tanuja Desai Hidier” (by Sheryl Parbhoo, August 15, 2016)
- The Universal News Network feature: Tanuja’s South Asia Book Award
- Global Fashion Flare feature (PDF tk)
- BANG2WRITE (“13 Experts Share Their Notable Diverse Books Of Recent Years”, by Lucy V Hay, June 6, 2015)
- MUSIC UNPLUGGED feature: “Got the Bombay Blues?” (September 2015)
- RADIO&MUSIC feature: “Tanuja Desai Hidier: It took me three years to complete both Bombay Blues & Bombay Spleen” (September 9, 2015)
- I READ YA WEEK: “Tanuja Desai Hidier: The Two Stages of Writing A YA Book” (May 19, 2015)
- SALON.COM (“Sex: The last taboo of YA literature? Not anymore!” by Donna Freitas, May 13, 2015)
- BOOKSTALKER interview: “Bookstalked: Tanuja Desai Hidier” by Julia Bartz (April 2015)
- POLKA CAFE, playlist pick (“Heptanesia” music video from Bombay Spleen; March 27, 2015)
- MUMBAI BOSS, culture pick (“Heptanesia” music video from Bombay Spleen): “What We’re Listening to Right Now”
- GOOD MAGAZINE feature: “6 Young Adult Protagonists Who Aren’t White” by Tasbeeh Herwees, October 17, 2014)
- AAWW feature: “ABCD: Who Are You Calling Confused? A look back at the history behind ‘American Born Confused Desi’ and where it’s gone since” by Kishwer Vikaas, July 24, 2014)
- BOOKRIOT: South Asian YA: 5 Titles to Read by Swapna Krishna (October 17, 2014)
- MAVENLY + CO. (formerly The Girling): “Girls We Love: Tanuja Desai Hidier”, December 17, 2015)
- JUGNI STYLE (“3 Coming-of-Age Stories for South Asian Teen Girls” by Nimrita Parmar, September 2, 2014)
- Free Book Friday interview: ‘Born Confused’ by Tanuja Desai Hidier (May 17, 2014)
- The Aerogram excerpt (Bombay Blues) & video (Bombay Spleen) (September 26, 2014)
- Yalsa/The Hub Jukebooks: Bombay Blues (August 27, 2014)
- AtomFellows.com, Bombay Spleen blog
- On Our Minds: (“Spotlight on Acclaimed Author and Songwriter Tanuja Desai Hidier” by Stephanie Smith, September 11, 2014)
- The Aerogram: “Desi Dance Parties In The ‘90s And The Underside Of Identity Work” by Swathi Sreerangarajan (April 2, 2015)
- Salon.com (“‘There aren’t a lot of you out there’: What? Let’s fix our female Asian-American writer blind spot now” by Celeste NG, January 2, 2015)
BORN CONFUSED 1ST RELEASE PRESS KITS
PRE-2014 PRESS LINKS [in progress]
- idiva (“Meet Desilicious Writer-Musician Tanuja Desai Hidier” by Nona Walia, October 20, 2011)
- Mumbai Mirror: “Moving on from the ABCD Mindset” by Aseem Chhabra, (October 16, 2011)
- PaperTigers (“Here to Stay: South Asian Literature for Children and Teens” by Pooja Makhijani, July 2006)
- Khabar Magazine feature: Novelists Who Rock and ‘Rite (September 2007)
- Times of India (Desi Babes feature, September 1, 2005)
- NPR Weekend Edition Summer Reading (“DJ Rekha, Spinning a Few Tomes”, June 19, 2005)
- Notes from the Slushpile: The Neither-Here-Nor-There Reader by Candy Gourlay (from the 11th Annual NCRCL/British IBBY Children’s Literature Conference on the theme East Meets West in Children’s Literature, 13 November 2004, Roehampton University, London)
- Deep Blue Ink feature (“Not at All Born Confused”, August 2004)
- The Scotsman (“Tis the Season to be Reading” by Michael Thorn, December 13, 2003)
- Achuka.com feature (July 2003)
- The Cambridge Chronicle (“Across-the-Pond Collaboration Celebrates Shared Heritage” by Susie Davidson, April 2, 2003)
- Little India feature: In the Land of Gup (by Lavina Melwani, May 5, 2003)
- Publishers Weekly feature (“Fall 2002 Flying Starts” by Lynda Brill Comerford, December 23, 2002)
- Bookslut interview (“Confusion Into Creativity: A Review of Born Confused and Conversation with Tanuja Desai Hidier” by Roohi Choudhry, November 2002)
- India Abroad COVER STORY (“A Bridge Across Confusion: a profile of writer Tanuja Desai Hidier” by Monica Mehta, September 27, 2002)
- India Today feature (“American Desi” by Anil Padmanabhan, September 9, 2002)
- KLIATT (Born Confused review by Claire Rosser, 2002)
- Business-Standard (“The Children’s Hour: Speaking Volumes” by Nilanjana S. Roy, October 27, 2004)
- Business-Standard (“Wanilla Flavored Hinglish” by Nilanjana S. Roy, May 11, 2004)
- The Telegraph (“Think Pink” by Amanda Craig, September 14, 2003)
- Push Voices: Tanuja Desai Hidier