Ep. 35: Voice: Namrata Tripathi on Jazz Odysseys and the Toothy Work of Excavating Truth

Highlights from our conversation with Founder and Publisher of Kokila, Namrata Tripathi:

 

• The power of celebrating not just our communal work, but also ourselves
• Voice as an essential point of view with no illusion of neutrality
• How cheap workarounds subvert the hard work of uncovering our own voice 
• The power of words like “intuition” (despite how it may come off as fluffy or weak)
• Supporting writers in identifying who they are actually in conversation with on the page
• The lifelong work of knowing how to be more honest with ourselves and the world
• The priceless bit of publishing wisdom a former boss shared
• How Kokila’s intentional approach to each facet of publishing is intrinsically tied to the books they put out into the world.

 

Namrata Tripathi is Founder and Publisher of Kokila. Previously, Namrata held editorial positions at HarperCollins, Disney-Hyperion, and Simon and Schuster. She is the editor of New York Times bestsellers Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and Vashti Harrison and Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi and Ashley Lukashevsky; the Newbery Honor-winning middle grade novel The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani; and the National Book Award Finalists Noggin by John Corey Whaley, Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay, and The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor. Namrata grew up in Afghanistan, India, Canada, Pakistan, Germany, and Poland, and has happily called New York City home for the last twenty-five years.