Prasad, Chandra 1975–

PERSONAL:

Born 1975, in New Haven, CT; married Basil Petrov. Education: Graduate of Yale University, 1997.

ADDRESSES:

Home—CT.

CAREER:

Freelance writer, 1997—.

WRITINGS:

Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a Great Position, Lyons Press (Guilford, CT), 2004.

Death of a Circus (novel), Red Hen Press (Granada Hills, CA), 2006.

(Editor and contributor) Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience, introduction by Rebecca Walker, W.W. Norton (New York, NY), 2006.

On Borrowed Wings: A Novel, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor of articles to periodicals and Web sites, including the Wall Street Journal, India Abroad, India New England, Monster.com, and Vault. Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Faultline.

SIDELIGHTS:

In a New York Times profile of Chandra Prasad, Kathryn Shattuck commented on the author's novels and wrote: "Chandra Prasad's writing reverberates with the familiar, from images of the south-central Connecticut towns where she grew up and still lives to the storied campus of Yale University, where she was educated. But her perspective is that of an outsider, nose pressed to the glass, peering in." Chandra began her freelance writing career by focusing on workplace issues. Her first book was Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a Great Position. Writing in a review posted on Quintessential Careers, Randall S. Hansen noted: "I was struck at how well Prasad covers all aspects of job-hunting in a very easy-to-read style, with numerous tips and examples to guide the wary job-seeker."

In her first novel, Death of a Circus, the author writes of Lor Cole, a young black man living in Connecticut in the early twentieth century. Bored with his life, Lor dreams of running away with the circus and eventually lands a job as a high-wire walker. Although he becomes a circus star, Lor must still contend with the diverse community that makes up a circus. Allison Block, writing in Booklist, called Death of a Circus a "richly textured first novel packed with glamour and grit."

Prasad next served as editor of and contributor to Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience. The anthology, for which Prasad wrote the foreword, features a diverse range of multiracial writers. "Mixed reveals … commonalities and the unique ways they manifest themselves in particular times, places and people," wrote Cheryl Harris Sharman in the San Francisco Chronicle. Prasad also contributes a short story to the anthology. Titled "Wayward," the tale features a teenage girl—the daughter of an Indian mother and Russian father—who is exposed to discrimination by a young child she is babysitting. Vanessa Bush, writing in Booklist, called the anthology "an absorbing and thought-provoking collection of stories." New Statesman contributor Mary Fitzgerald noted: "There is some exquisite writing here."

Prasad's On Borrowed Wings: A Novel is also set in Connecticut and tells the story of a young woman, Adele Pietra, who pretends to be her deceased brother so she can attend Yale University. Commenting that the novel is no "standard crossdress-to-impress tale," New Haven Advocate contributor Christopher Arnott also called the novel "accessible, a good bedtime read," adding that "it isn't a cloying romance novel in literary clothes or a heavy-handed metaphor." A subplot of the novel revolves around Adele taking a work-study job with a professor who is conducting research to prove that the upper classes are superior. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the author "renders believable a girl who becomes herself in a most unlikely way."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 1, 2006, Vanessa Bush, review of Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience, p. 31; November 15, 2006, Allison Block, review of Death of a Circus, p. 30.

Hamden Journal (Shelton, CT), June 14, 2007, "Author Delves into Identity."

Library Journal, June 15, 2006, Rebecca Stuhr, review of Mixed, p. 63.

New Haven Advocate, June 21, 2007, Christopher Arnott, review of On Borrowed Wings: A Novel.

New Statesman, October 16, 2006, Mary Fitzgerald, "Spelling out Diversity," review of Mixed, p. 60.

New York Times, February 18, 2007, Kathryn Shattuck, "Writing; A High-Wire Act Balancing Race, Gender and a Lonely Determination," profile of author.

Publishers Weekly, March 12, 2007, review of On Borrowed Wings, p. 32.

San Francisco Chronicle, August 27, 2006, Cheryl Harris Sharman, review of Mixed.

ONLINE

BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (October 10, 2007), Hilary Williamson, review of Outwitting the Job Market: Everything You Need to Locate and Land a Great Position.

Chandra Prasad Home Page,http://www.chandraprasad.com (October 10, 2007).

CT Central,http://www.ctcentral.com/ (October 10, 2007), Patricia D'Ascoli, "Chandra Prasad's Debut Novel Reflects Fascination with the '30s Yale, Gender Issues."

CT Festival of Words,http://www.ctfestivalofwords.com/ (October 10, 2007), brief profile of author.

Quintessential Careers,http://www.quintcareers.com/ (October 10, 2007), Randall S. Hansen, review of Outwitting the Job Market.

South Asian Women's Network,http://www.sawnet.org/books (October 10, 2007), "Chandra Prasad," profile of author.

True Careers Inc. Web site,http://www.truecareers.com/ (October 10, 2007), "Outwitting Discrimination: New Job Market Tactics for Women and Minorities," interview with author.