Kiranmala series’ author, Sayantani DasGupta, shares how L’Engle inspired her stories
This week, we’re excited to get to know Sayantani DasGupta, a panelist on the We Need Diverse Books panel, which will be featured at the Walking on Water Conference this November. Writers associated with We Need Diverse Books will talk about “The New Generation of Meg Murrys – What Fantasy & Speculative Fiction Inspire,” and will feature Sayantani, Heidi Heilig, and Karuna Riazi, with moderator Caroline Richmond.
Sayantani is the author of a series of books that finds its inspiration in L’Engle’s Wrinkle in Time series. Hear, in her own words, how Madeleine’s work made hers soar:
What excites you about the Madeleine L’Engle Conference?
Everything! I’m a huge fan of both the Wrinkle in Time series and the Austin Family series. Of course my own Bengali folktale and string theory inspired Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series was very much influenced by Madeleine L’Engle’s work! In fact as a physician-writer who uses lots of space science in her fantasy series, it was Madeleine L’Engle who first taught me that stories and science can go hand in hand.
Do you have a Madeleine story/quote/moment that has inspired you?
“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
In what ways does a legacy like Madeleine’s inspire the way you create art for a new generation?
As I mentioned above, L’Engle’s books were the first place I learned that science and stories are not opposites, but partners. My entire career is at the intersection of science and story (I teach, after all, in a program for Narrative Medicine). In addition, my fantasy series from Scholastic (The Serpent’s Secret, Game of Stars and the soon-to-come-out The Chaos Curse) is very much influenced by the space science and metaphysics of A Wrinkle in Time. To me, string theory and parallel universes seemed the perfect metaphor for the immigrant experience — immigrants are, to me, galaxy hoppers and space explorers!
What are you working on now?
A secret project, possibly a follow up to the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series. (Shhh!)
Thanks, Sayantani! Follow the links to several more fun endorsements of the links between her work and Wrinkle in Time:
1. Click here for an online interview at Booklist, in which Sayantani discusses L’Engle’s work.
2. Don’t miss this LA Review of Books Review of The Serpent’s Secret, in which they say the following: “Kiran’s journey through space, complete with moving mountains and black holes, felt like a wink to Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time (1962). The reader feels a sense of connection to other stories they have loved, while also appreciating the unique qualities of characters they have never encountered before.”
3. A Barnes and Noble Blog Interview in which she mentions both A Wrinkle in Time book and film.
4. This list of nine diverse sci-fi fantasy books to read after A Wrinkle in Time.
One more thing: Just in case you’re on the fence, early-bird pricing goes up in just a bit! Register for the Walking on Water Conference before August 31!
–Erin F. Wasinger, for MadeleineLEngle.com.
