The debut novel from the winner of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop Pages in Progress Prize is the township of Edison’s first community-wide read
Edison, NJ
Third State Books is proud to announce the release of EDISON by Pallavi Sharma Dixit, a hilariously entertaining Bollywood-style love story in the guise of literary fiction set in the eponymous New Jersey township known as “Little India.”
Leaning into the inspiration, setting and title of the novel, EDISON has been named the first community-wide read for the township of Edison during the Summer of 2024: “Edison Reads EDISON: A Reading Collaboration with the Township of Edison, NJ.” The campaign will feature a media event with Edison, NJ, Mayor Sam Joshi, as well as programming with the Edison Chamber of Commerce, the Edison Public Library, and the local Barnes & Noble.
The debut novel from Dixit, EDISON won the first annual Asian American Writers’ Workshop Pages in Progress Prize. Third State Books was a co-sponsor, along with Plympton, of this unique AAPI fiction contest held in the spring of 2023.
“One of our main goals with Third State Books is to discover new Asian American voices and fast-track them into becoming published authors,” said Stephanie Lim, Co-Founder and CEO of Third State Books. “Through the process of being involved in AAWW’s contest, we were able to discover Pallavi’s amazing work, and it was immediately clear that this was a novel we wanted to publish.”
Charles Kim, Co-Founder and President of Third State Books, added, “We are a new independent publisher focused on making an impact with books by and about Asian Americans, and this is exactly the kind of approach we want to take—finding and developing talent and moving fast to get it into the hands of readers. Publishing traditionally moves very slowly, but we feel an urgency to make up some much-needed ground when it comes to publishing Asian American stories by Asian American authors.”
Dixit, who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, grew up in Edison. “I was inspired by my love of Bollywood films and the unique community of Edison, where I spent my youth and still have deep connections. Writing the novel allowed me to bring that magical, hardscrabble world of New Jersey’s ‘Little India’ to the page.”
EDISON, which was published on June 4, 2024, is a love story brimming with song and dance, action and comedy, a love triangle, an angry parent, an evil villain, and cameos by real Bollywood stars. Along the way, we glean bits of Indian film history and fall in love with an improbable cast of characters who inhabit Edison, one of the largest and most diverse South Asian cultural hubs in the United States.
Chitra Divakaruni, an author of the bestselling novel Mistress of Spices, exclaims that “EDISON is a charming, often hilarious novel brimming over with life, laughter and dreams worthy of the most outrageous Bollywood movies.”
“Pallavi Sharma Dixit has given us an unforgettable love story, a riotous comedy, a tender coming-of-age tale, and a history of an American city, and an homage to Indian cinema told with all the romance and drama and verve of the movies,” proclaims Nathan Hill, New York Times bestselling author of The Nix and Wellness.
And Jafreen Uddin, Executive Director of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, called EDISON “a literary gem,” noting that it’s both “a heartwarming tale that beautifully captures the transformation of an American community” and “a modern love story that will make your heart soar.”
In addition to the Edison Reads EDISON campaign, Third State Books is conducting a national marketing and publicity campaign for EDISON that includes partnering with leading Asian American marketing and professional networks, as well as the Asian American Writers’ Workshop.
Pallavi Sharma Dixit was born in India and raised in New Jersey. She was a winner of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop’s Pages in Progress Prize for EDISON, her debut novel. Her work has been supported by the First Pages Prize, the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship Program, Intermedia Arts, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Loft Literary Center, and the Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Program. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and lives in Minneapolis with her husband, two children, and their dog.
Third State Books is the only general-interest publishing house in the United States that focuses solely on bringing AAPI voices, perspectives, and issues to audiences who cherish them. Through fiction and nonfiction, for adults and children, we strive to publish stories that more fully represent the total Asian American experience.
Our name, “Third State,” refers to the unique experience of being a bridge between cultures as Asian Americans.
