Soman Chainani is the New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil, a global franchise spanning books, film, and education. The series has sold more than 4.5 million copies, been translated into 35 languages, spent over 50 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and was adapted into a major Netflix film that debuted at #1 in more than 80 countries.

A graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University’s MFA film program, Chainani has visited more than 800 schools worldwide, where he champions reading as a tool for empowerment and change. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

I had the opportunity to interview Soman, which you can read below.

First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Sure! My name is Soman Chainani and I’ve been an author of fantasy novels for the past 13 years. When I lived in NYC for 22 years, I used to be a huge fan of Geeks OUT and FlameCon. I appeared on a few panels there for The School for Good and Evil books and film. Then I fell in love with a goat farmer and moved to Missouri. So life’s taken a bit of a turn, both on and off the page.  

What can you tell us about your work, Young World. What was the inspiration for this book?

I spent 12 years writing The School for Good and Evil series, six books and two prequels that became a global franchise – including a big movie for Netflix that starred Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh and others. It felt like being the Fairy Tale Guy would be the natural, expected course for my career. Except as I travelled the world, going into hundreds of schools to visit with young readers, I could see their stresses and anxieties mounting – about their futures, their planet, and the way they were expected to operate in adult spaces. They’d lost the right to be young. I started realizing that maybe I wasn’t meant to help people keep escaping to fairy tale worlds. Maybe I was meant to help them transform this one. 

Young World is about what happens when young people rise up against the government and decide to take control of their futures. I hope it turns out to be anything but a fairy tale. This is one book I would like to see come to life. 

As a writer, what drew you to the art of storytelling, especially young adult fiction?

Building worlds was my one and only talent in life, other than playing tennis. But I think writing for and working with young adults is such a valuable mission – these days, they need a third party to be their advocate on and off the page. Young World is my primal scream on their behalf. 

How would you describe your creative process?

Madonna once said that every artist isn’t actually the artist. They’re just the “manager.” The art itself is coming from the subconscious. So that’s how I operate. I’m just the manager of the elves inside me. I have to create the conditions for them to do their best work. The rest happens on its own. 

What are some of your favorite elements of writing? What do you consider some of the most frustrating and/or challenging? 

Revision is my favorite, because you get to make things better. Drafting is always a pain in the ass, because you honestly don’t know what’s happening and most of what comes out is total goop. You’re trying to go into the depths of your unconscious and excavate pearls, but that’s never what happens in the beginning. At first, it’s just throwing sludge onto the page. Then little by little, you refine it. 

As an author who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration in general?

Oh, there’s many. Madonna for her ability to reinvent. RuPaul for her playfulness and sense of mischief. Marina Abramovic for her commitment. Anna Wintour for her endurance. There’s so many. And they are all women. No men – oh, other than Roger Federer. 

Aside from your work, what are some things you would want readers to know about you?

Tennis is probably my greatest love in life. I play five times a week with the college teams in St. Louis. I think once I’m no longer able to play at the level with those guys, I’ll need a therapist to talk me down from the ledge. Other than that, me and my partner have two Bernese Mountain dogs that live on the farm and never have been on a leash. They know how to unlock doors and lower car windows. It’s not a good situation. 

What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet but that you wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

What books did you read growing up that you weren’t supposed to?

Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series. Oooh la la. 

What advice might you have to give for aspiring writers out there?

Keep a diary. You need to be so authentic and honest to your voice. That requires practicing your voice and learning not to censor it. You’d be surprise how much you adapt your voice to expectations. I do everything I can to stop that and tell the truth. 

Are there any other projects you are working on and at liberty to speak about?

My next series is going to get me in a lot of trouble. Hopefully the good kind. 

Finally, what books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT? 

Alan Hollingshurst. C.S. Pacat. ML Rio.