Megha Majumdar’s A Burning came out in 2020. It was an instant NYT bestseller and was nominated for a number of prestigious awards, including the National Book Award, and was named one of the best books of that year by a number of media outlets.
Her latest, A Guardian and a Thief, is enjoying perhaps even more success. It was a finalist for the National Book Award and was Oprah’s pick for October. Like A Burning, A Guardian and a Thief is set in contemporary India (this one in the near-distant future). And, like A Burning, Megha allows us to fall in love with her characters and then puts them on a painful collision course. This time, the climate crisis has accelerated a famine in Calcutta which is forcing good people to act desperately and sometimes violently.
Megha joins Marrie Stone to talk about it. They talk about structuring a “ticking timebomb novel,” and telling a story over the course of seven days. They discuss incorporating backstory without losing forward momentum, and how to make even minor characters full and rich portraits. And they talk about endings, the art of surprising inevitability, and striking the right emotional tone. She also shares her favorite current read: Loot by Tania James. All this and so much more ….
For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It’s stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you’ll find an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It’s perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at
[email protected]. We love to hear from our listeners!
(Recorded on November 20, 2025)
Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
Host: Marrie Stone
Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)
