How to Fail as a Popstar

How to Fail as a Popstar
Author: Vivek Shraya
Publisher: arsenal pulp press
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2021-04-06
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1551528436

Described as “cultural rocket fuel” by Vanity Fair, Vivek Shraya is a multi-media artist whose art, music, novels, and poetry and children’s books explore the beauty and the power of personal and cultural transformation. How to Fail as a Popstar is Vivek’s debut theatrical work, a one-person show that chronicles her journey from singing in shopping malls to “not quite” pop music superstardom with beguiling humor and insight. A reflection on the power of pop culture, dreams, disappointments, and self-determination, this astonishing work is a raw, honest, and hopeful depiction of the search to find one’s authentic voice. The book includes color photographs from the show’s 2020 production in Toronto, and a foreword by its director Brendan Healy. This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A Simple book with few images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

The Subtweet

The Subtweet
Author: Vivek Shraya
Publisher: ECW Press
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1773055151

“Biting and beautiful.” — Jonny Sun, author of everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too Everyone talks about falling in love, but falling in friendship can be just as captivating. When Neela Devaki’s song is covered by internet-famous artist Rukmini, the two musicians meet and a transformative friendship begins. But as Rukmini’s star rises and Neela’s stagnates, jealousy and self-doubt creep in. With a single tweet, their friendship implodes, one career is destroyed, and the two women find themselves at the center of an internet firestorm. Celebrated multidisciplinary artist Vivek Shraya’s second novel is a stirring examination of making art in the modern era, a love letter to brown women, an authentic glimpse into the music industry, and a nuanced exploration of the promise and peril of being seen.

Death Threat

Death Threat
Author: Vivek Shraya
Publisher: arsenal pulp press
Total Pages: 81
Release: 2019-05-21
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1551527510

In the fall of 2017, the acclaimed writer and musician Vivek Shraya began receiving vivid and disturbing transphobic hate mail from a stranger. Acclaimed artist Ness Lee brings these letters and Shraya’s responses to them to startling life in Death Threat, a comic book that, by its existence, becomes a compelling act of resistance. Using satire and surrealism, Death Threat is an unflinching portrayal of violent harassment from the perspective of both the perpetrator and the target, illustrating the dangers of online accessibility, and the ease with which vitriolic hatred can be spread digitally.

The Boy & the Bindi

The Boy & the Bindi
Author: Vivek Shraya
Publisher: arsenal pulp press
Total Pages: 42
Release: 2016-09-19
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1551526697

In this beautiful children’s picture book by Vivek Shraya, author of the acclaimed God Loves Hair, a five-year-old South Asian boy becomes fascinated with his mother’s bindi, the red dot commonly worn by Hindu women to indicate the point at which creation begins, and wishes to have one of his own. Rather than chastise her son, she agrees to it, and teaches him about its cultural significance, allowing the boy to discover the magic of the bindi, which in turn gives him permission to be more fully himself. Beautifully illustrated by Rajni Perera, The Boy & the Bindi is a joyful celebration of gender and cultural difference. Ages 3 to 6. Vivek Shraya is a performer, musician, and filmmaker, and the authors of God Loves Hair and She of the Mountains. This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A book with many images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

People Change

People Change
Author: Vivek Shraya
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2022-01-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0735238669

“A deeply generous and honest gift to the world.” —Elliot Page The author of I’m Afraid of Men lets readers in on the secrets to a life of reinvention. Vivek Shraya knows this to be true: people change. We change our haircuts and our outfits and our minds. We change names, titles, labels. We attempt to blend in or to stand out. We outgrow relationships, we abandon dreams for new ones, we start fresh. We seize control of our stories. We make resolutions. In fact, nobody knows this better than Vivek, who’s made a career of embracing many roles: artist, performer, musician, writer, model, teacher. In People Change, she reflects on the origins of this impulse, tracing it to childhood influences from Hinduism to Madonna. What emerges is a meditation on change itself: why we fear it, why we’re drawn to it, what motivates us to change, and what traps us in place. At a time when we’re especially contemplating who we want to be, this slim and stylish handbook is an essential companion—a guide to celebrating our many selves and the inspiration to discover who we’ll become next.

I'm Afraid of Men

I'm Afraid of Men
Author: Vivek Shraya
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 49
Release: 2018-08-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0735235945

Named a Best Book by: The Globe and Mail, Indigo, Out Magazine, Audible, CBC, Apple, Quill & Quire, Kirkus Reviews, Brooklyn Public Library, Writers’ Trust of Canada, Autostraddle, Bitch, and BookRiot. Finalist for the 2019 Lambda Literary Award, Transgender Nonfiction Nominated for the 2019 Forest of Reading Evergreen Award Winner of the 2018 Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design – Prose Non-Fiction "Cultural rocket fuel." --Vanity Fair "Emotional and painful but also layered with humour, I'm Afraid of Men will widen your lens on gender and challenge you to do better. This challenge is a necessary one--one we must all take up. It is a gift to dive into Vivek's heart and mind." --Rupi Kaur, bestselling author of The Sun and Her Flowers and Milk and Honey A trans artist explores how masculinity was imposed on her as a boy and continues to haunt her as a girl--and how we might reimagine gender for the twenty-first century. Vivek Shraya has reason to be afraid. Throughout her life she's endured acts of cruelty and aggression for being too feminine as a boy and not feminine enough as a girl. In order to survive childhood, she had to learn to convincingly perform masculinity. As an adult, she makes daily compromises to steel herself against everything from verbal attacks to heartbreak. Now, with raw honesty, Shraya delivers an important record of the cumulative damage caused by misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia, releasing trauma from a body that has always refused to assimilate. I'm Afraid of Men is a journey from camouflage to a riot of colour and a blueprint for how we might cherish all that makes us different and conquer all that makes us afraid.

God Loves Hair

God Loves Hair
Author: Vivek Shraya
Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2014-08-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1551525445

"A touching poetic exploration of budding sexuality, the mysticism of religion, and family dynamics. Shraya's text and Neufeld's illustrations capture the confusion, innocence, and de3lusions of adolescence bang on." -Brian Francis, author of Fruit I am often mistaken for a girl. Not just because I like to wear dresses or makeup. I don't mind. My parents are from India and here is not quite home. School isn't always safe and neither is my body. But I feel safe in my love for God. And God loves hair. First published to acclaim in 2011, Vivek Shraya's first book, now published by Arsenal Pulp Press for the first time, is a collection of twenty-one short stories following a tender, intellectual, and curious child of Indian origin as he navigates the complex realms of sexuality, gender, racial politics, religion, and belonging. Told with the poignant insight and honesty that only the voice of a young mind can convey, God Loves Hair is a moving and ultimately joyous portrait of youth that celebrates diversity in all shapes, sizes, and colors. A Lambda Literary Award finalist in the category of children's books. The stories are accompanied by the award-winning full-color illustrations of Juliana Neufeld. Vivek Shraya is a multimedia artist, working in the mediums of music, performance, literature, and film. He is also author of She of the Mountains.

How to Fail: Everything I've Ever Learned from Things Going Wrong

How to Fail: Everything I've Ever Learned from Things Going Wrong
Author: Elizabeth Day
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2020-07-17
Genre:
ISBN: 9780008434595

Inspired by her hugely popular podcast, How To Fail is Elizabeth Day's brilliantly funny, painfully honest and insightful celebration of things going wrong. This is a book for anyone who has ever failed. Which means it's a book for everyone. If I have learned one thing from this shockingly beautiful venture called life, it is this: failure has taught me lessons I would never otherwise have understood. I have evolved more as a result of things going wrong than when everything seemed to be going right. Out of crisis has come clarity, and sometimes even catharsis. Part memoir, part manifesto, and including chapters on dating, work, sport, babies, families, anger and friendship, it is based on the simple premise that understanding why we fail ultimately makes us stronger. It's a book about learning from our mistakes and about not being afraid. Uplifting, inspiring and rich in stories from Elizabeth's own life, How to Fail reveals that failure is not what defines us; rather it is how we respond to it that shapes us as individuals. Because learning how to fail is actually learning how to succeed better. And everyone needs a bit of that.

The Book of Everything

The Book of Everything
Author: Guus Kuijer
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 101
Release: 2012-04-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545298989

Faith is joy is love is hope in this novel of exquisite power and everyday miracles, reminiscent of Barbara Kingsolver's THE POISONWOOD BIBLE.Thomas can see things no one else can see. Tropical fish swimming in the canals. The magic of Mrs. Van Amersfoort, the Beethoven-loving witch next door. The fierce beauty of Eliza with her artificial leg. And the Lord Jesus, who tells him, "Just call me Jesus." Thomas records these visions in his "Book of Everything." They comfort him when his father beats him, when the angels weep for his mother's black eyes. And they give him the strength to finally confront his father and become what he wants to be when he grows up: "Happy."