People have asked me why the main family in my debut novel isn’t Iranian. I have issues with that question: (a thread)

1. It implies that I should write from an Iranian POV because I’m Iranian. I wrote about the subject that came to me. I explore emotional scars within a fractured family and the last thing I wanted was to perpetuate tropes of the Iranian father who is emotionally abusive

We’ve seen enough of that. Intersectional identity is important to my work, but I made the deliberate choice to not write the fathers as Iranian

I shouldn’t have to explain myself, but frankly I’m tired of the question. POC should be able to write whatever story comes to them. Period.

My second book is told from an Iranian woman’s POV. I’m super excited about it, but also aware of how the questions will disappear, how it might feel more appropriate or palatable. POC should not be valued for their otherness

Our talent & creativity should be valued for what they are

I’ve repeated some of my messages because I’m terrible at creating threads! They get lost in comment section