© 2025 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Sonali Dev on breaking stereotypes in 'The Vibrant Years'

Sonali Dev author of "The Vibrant Years"
Ishita Singh
Sonali Dev author of "The Vibrant Years"

Known for her Bollywood-style love stories, author Sonali Dev is passionate about creating complex, life-like female characters who defy the stereotype of Indian femininity.

Her newest novel, The Vibrant Years, was selected as the first book to be published through Mindy’s Book Studio, a boutique story studio created by Mindy Kaling. The book follows three generations of Indian-American women as they each navigate dating and independence at three very different stages of life.

I recently spoke with Sonali Dev about breaking stereotypes at every age, how Bollywood films influenced her, and how she crafted some laugh-out-loud moments. Here's our conversation.

-

The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev was published by Mindy's Book Studio.

Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita and is part of the NPR Podcast Network.

Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita.

  • Mark Statzer and Torin Andersen - engineers
  • Lu Anne Stephens & Haley Crowson - editors
  • Haley Crowson - producer
  • Karlee Cooper - marketing coordinator
  • Beth Golay - host

Follow Beth Golay on Twitter @BethGolay.

Stay Connected
Beth Golay is KMUW's Director of Marketing and Digital Content. She is the host of the KMUW podcast Marginalia, co-host with Suzanne Perez of the Books & Whatnot podcast, creator of the podcast You're Saying It Wrong, creator of KMUW's daily news podcast Wichita's Early Edition, and NPR StoryLab Workshop team member on the award-winning podcast My Fellow Kansans.