Sonora Jha’s Novel Nominated For Washington State Award

The Laughter by Sonora Jha

India-West Staff Reporter

SEATTLE, WA – Seattle University professor and author Sonora Jha’s latest novel, The Laughter, has been nominated as a finalist in the fiction category for the 2024 Washington State Book Awards. This best-selling work has been praised as “an explosive, tense and illuminating work of fiction and a fascinating portrait of privilege, radicalization, class, and modern academia that forces us to confront the assumptions we make as readers and citizens.”

Jha, who also serves as the Associate Dean of Faculty Scholarship & Academic Community at the College of Arts and Sciences, expressed her gratitude for the recognition. “I’m truly honored to have my book listed as a finalist among some phenomenal books by writers I so deeply admire,” Jha said. “My heartfelt thanks to the jury of librarians, library workers, independent booksellers, and authors, who clearly had a tough task. Congratulations to all the writers!”

The Washington Center for the Book – an affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book administered by the Washington State Library – selected 39 finalists across seven categories for this year’s awards. The program, now in its 58th year, was formerly known as the Governor’s Writers Awards and honors outstanding books published by Washington authors in 2023, a press release said.

Winners of the Washington State Book Awards will be announced on September 24.