Of motherhood and memories

James Alan McPherson Prize-winning author Chital Mehta talks about her literary journey and the role Chennai's libraries played in it

- DIYA MARIA GEORGE

WHEN writer Chital Mehta learned that her forthcoming novel Have You Seen Romit? had won the 2025 James Alan McPherson Prize for the Novel, she “sighed deeply and cried.”

For an author whose work has been shaped by displacement, migration, and the resilience of people, the recognition felt like an affirmation of the stories she has spent years trying to bring into the world.

Speaking to CE from her home in Delaware, USA, she reflects on a journey that began far from where she lives today. Raised in Chennai and Coimbatore, she found her earliest refuge in local libraries — places that offered both companionship and possibility at a time when becoming a writer felt like a dream. It helped her navigate the uncertainties of adolescence, the constraints placed on young women, and the complex emotional terrain that would later inform her fiction.

Her new novel, described by judge RO Kwon as “a gripping, intensely moving portrayal of a woman whose ferocious love for her children clashes with how others expect her to behave,” explores motherhood, fear, gendered expectations, and the silences that shape Indian families. The book, scheduled for release in 2026, is already being hailed for its emotional force and its unflinching look at how women negotiate identity within and often against social boundaries.

In this exclusive conversation, she speaks candidly about the years-long writing process, the characters who haunted her until she gave them voice, and how winning the McPherson Prize has reshaped her understanding of belonging — both personally and artistically.

Excerpts:

Share some memories from your upbringing that influenced your decision to become a writer? How did these cities shape your literary journey?