 Author of the Month
Shambala Junction by Dipika Mukherjee, winner of the 4th Virginia Prize for Fiction, is being launched at Richmond Literary Festival on 23 November.
‘Shambala Junction takes hold of you and leads you with absolute confidence into one of the most extraordinary journeys any of us ever embark on: the discovery of India.’ Barney Norris, author of Times bestseller Five Rivers Met On A Wooded Plain
About the book: Iris is visiting India from the U.S. for the first time with her fiancée, and not enjoying the experience. When she steps down off the train for a bottle of water at Shambala Junction, little does she know that her life is about to undergo a radical change. Stranded at Shambala, she becomes caught up in the drama of stallholder Aman’s battle to recover his lost child. Along the way, she finds real friendship, learns what counts and grows to love India, in all its vivacity and charm.
“Shambala Junction was inspired by an article on babies for sale in India, and how international adoptions were benefiting from the misery of Indian families. Then my story grew beyond the adoption racket to include Iris and her quest to find herself as much as the missing baby.†Dipika Mukherjee
The prize’s founder, publisher Cheryl Robson said “We are delighted to have found such an entertaining and topical novel to publish. We welcome another internationally renowned author to the eclectic stable of fine novelists which Aurora Metro has been building.â€