Sonora Jha’s novel among 2024 Washington State Book Award finalists

Indian American author Sonora Jha’s novel ‘The Laughter’ is among the finalists for the 2024 Washington State Book Awards (WSBA) in the fiction category.

Published in 2023, The Laughter is described as “an explosive, tense, and illuminating work of fiction and a fascinating portrait of privilege, radicalization, class, and modern academia that forces us to confront the assumptions we make, as both readers and as citizens.”

“I’m thrilled that The Laughter is a finalist for the Washington State Book Award,” she posted on X. “So many thanks to the librarians, library workers, independent booksellers, authors, and administrators at the Washington State Library. Congratulations to all the writers on this list! @WAStateLib.”

The novel’s selection as a finalist highlights its impact in literary circles and its relevance in contemporary discourse. Reflecting on the recognition, Jha, an essayist, novelist, researcher, and professor of journalism at Seattle University said, “I’m truly honored to have my book listed as a finalist among some phenomenal books by writers I so deeply admire.”

READ: Siddhartha Mukherjee’s book on Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction longlist (September 6, 2023)

“My heartfelt thanks to the jury of librarians, library workers, independent booksellers, and authors, who clearly had a tough task. Congratulations to all the writers!”

The Washington State Book Awards, now in its 58th year, is overseen by the Washington Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book, and administered by the Washington State Library.

The program, formerly known as the Governor’s Writers Awards, celebrates outstanding works by Washington authors. This year, 39 finalists were chosen across seven categories for books published in 2023.

Winners of the prestigious award will be announced on Sep 24.

Jha’s other books include How to Raise a Feminist Son: Motherhood, Masculinity, and the Making of My Family, published by Sasquatch Books USA and Penguin Random House India, 2021. She is the author of the novel Foreign, which tells the stories of farmers’ suicides in India.

Jha’s op-eds and essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Seattle Times, The Establishment, DAME, and in several anthologies.

She grew up in Mumbai and has been chief of metropolitan bureau for the Times of India and contributing editor for East magazine in Singapore.

Jha teaches fiction and essay writing for Hugo House, Hedgebrook Writers’ Retreat, and Seattle Public Library. She is an alumna and board member of Hedgebrook Writers’ Retreat, and has served on the jury for awards for Artist Trust, Hedgebrook, and Hugo House.