The novel is published by Serpent’s Tail, who have established a reputation for their “diversity of voice and fearlessness”, and as part of Profile Books have published authors across the world like Colm Tóibín, Karen Joy Fowler, Elif Shafak, Atul Gawande, Lionel Shriver, Langston Hughes and Susan Choi.

I began writing the novel in 2016 and finished it in early 2023. Most authors won’t tell you what it took, because it always takes too much, and by the time the book is out in the world, we’ve had time to forgive ourselves for what we had to sacrifice. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I hope you’ll read the book one day and find your own truth in it. I wrote it for you.

Features
Vogue ~ “6 Summer Reads to Pack in Your Suitcase”
Times of India ~ “What a woman desires, particularly in the context of procreation, has largely been deemed irrelevant.”
The Tribune ~ “Shape of an Apostrophe cuts deep with a quiet intensity, articulating the muted edges of womanhood, the weight of grief, and the cost of becoming.”
Platform ~ “In her searing and intimate debut novel Shape of an Apostrophe, Uttama Kirit Patel delivers a profound meditation on motherhood, womanhood, and the choices that define us or undo us.”
Wasafiri ~ “This is a novel rife with women’s secrets, the keeping of each one an act of survival; it is a heartbreaking exploration of the fierce entanglements of motherhood and personhood.”
LitHub ~ “The seemingly progressive families of the Indian diaspora are derailed by Lina’s maternal ambivalence. The story is set in Dubai, a place with limited reproductive rights and ample luxury, a contentious backdrop for where she is trapped by the narrow confines of convention.”
Hindustan Times ~ “Patel adopts a tone that is simultaneously humorous and tragic.”
The Crack ~ “Uttama Kirit Patel has embraced her inner Jane Austen for this tale…Shape of an Apostrophe is a fine exploration of womanhood in a world where men hold sway.”
Scroll.in ~ “At the heart of the novel is deep indignation about womanhood, and how all its extant meanings twist when questions of being a mother come into the picture.”
The New Indian Express ~ “Despite dealing with serious themes, the novel maintains humour in its dialogue.”
The Coaching Chapters (podcast)
Rippling Pages ~ Uttama Kirt Patel on Letters, Motherhood, and Mother-in-Laws (podcast)
Wild & Wise ~ Motherhood, Identity, & the Creative Process (video podcast)
A Pair of Bookends ~ Parenthood, Domestic Workers & Mother-in-Laws (podcast)

Events
Brighton Book Festival, UK – My body, your agenda
Carlyle & Co., Hong Kong – Defying domestic roles
Bookazine, Hong Kong – Book signing and Q&A
Book Bar, Singapore – Book discussion & Author meet
National Library, Singapore – Writing motherhood
Manorama Hortus Arts & Literature Festival, Kochi – Motherhood in Tension: Desire, Guilt and Autonomy
Debuts & Drafts; Delhi, Gurgaon & Mumbai – Authors in conversation
Emirates Festival of Literature – A Family Affair

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