Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 22 hours ago
Two writers, equally adept in fiction and non fiction, speak about their distinct modes of storytelling. An award-winning and critically acclaimed writer, Stephen Alter has authored over twenty books of fiction and non-fiction. In his new novel, The Greatest Game, Alter reimagines a literary classic, bringing life to an older, wiser version of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved spy, Kimball O’Hara, in the turbulent months before India’s independence. He is joined by writer and professor Sonora Jha, as she speaks on her recent novel The Laughter, in which a white professor’s unsettling obsession with his Pakistani colleague throws up questions of class, radicalisation ,and privilege. She also speaks of her forthcoming novel, Intemperance. In conversation with Arsen Kashkashian, the two writers read from their works, and discuss their craft.
Sonora Jha is the author of four books, most recently the novel The Laughter, which won the 2024 Washington State Book Award for Fiction, and was named one of the best books of 2023 by the New Yorker, NPR, and others. Her previous books are the memoir, How to Raise a Feminist Son and the novel Foreign. Her latest novel, Intemperance, will be out from Harper Via on October 14. Dr. Jha is a Loyola Endowed Professor at Seattle University, and lives in Seattle.
Stephen Alter is the author of more than twenty-five works of fiction and nonfiction. He was born and raised in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, where he continues to live. Much of his work focuses on the Himalayan mountain range. His most recent book of nonfiction, published in 2024, is The Cobra's Gaze: Exploring India's Wild Heritage. His most recent novel, published in June 2025, is The Greatest Game, a sequel to Kipling's Kim.
Arsen Kashkashian is the book buyer for the Boulder Bookstore. With Maeve Conran, he co-hosts The KGNU-Boulder Bookstore Radio Bookclub.
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#literature #fiction #nonfiction
Two writers, equally adept in fiction and non fiction, speak about their distinct modes of storytelling. An award-winning and critically acclaimed writer, Stephen Alter has authored over twenty books of fiction and non-fiction. In his new novel, The Greatest Game, Alter reimagines a literary classic, bringing life to an older, wiser version of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved spy, Kimball O’Hara, in the turbulent months before India’s independence. He is joined by writer and professor Sonora Jha, as she speaks on her recent novel The Laughter, in which a white professor’s unsettling obsession with his Pakistani colleague throws up questions of class, radicalisation ,and privilege. She also speaks of her forthcoming novel, Intemperance. In conversation with Arsen Kashkashian, the two writers read from their works, and discuss their craft.
Sonora Jha is the author of four books, most recently the novel The Laughter, which won the 2024 Washington State Book Award for Fiction, and was named one of the best books of 2023 by the New Yorker, NPR, and others. Her previous books are the memoir, How to Raise a Feminist Son and the novel Foreign. Her latest novel, Intemperance, will be out from Harper Via on October 14. Dr. Jha is a Loyola Endowed Professor at Seattle University, and lives in Seattle.
Stephen Alter is the author of more than twenty-five works of fiction and nonfiction. He was born and raised in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, where he continues to live. Much of his work focuses on the Himalayan mountain range. His most recent book of nonfiction, published in 2024, is The Cobra's Gaze: Exploring India's Wild Heritage. His most recent novel, published in June 2025, is The Greatest Game, a sequel to Kipling's Kim.
Arsen Kashkashian is the book buyer for the Boulder Bookstore. With Maeve Conran, he co-hosts The KGNU-Boulder Bookstore Radio Bookclub.
Follow us on –
Website - jlflitfest.org
Facebook - facebook.com/JLFInternational
YouTube - youtube.com/@JLFInternational
Instagram - instagram.com/jlfinternational
Twitter - twitter.com/JLFLitfest
#literature #fiction #nonfiction
