Lavanya Lakshmi

Lavanya (she/her) was born in New Delhi, India and grew up in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong before coming to the US for her undergrad. She has a master’s degree from NYU and lived in New York for nine years. Lavanya has worked in the publishing industry for thirteen years and is on the board of directors for the Festival of Literary Diversity. Her debut novel, LEAVE AND COME BACK, will be published in June 2026 by Doubleday Books in Canada, PRH in the US, and HarperFiction in the UK. Both she and her perpetually cold feet currently reside in Toronto.