Presenting Powerhouse Stand-up Comedian, Kanan Gill’s Compelling, Mind-bending Novel, ‘Acts of God’

shabnam.srivastava@harpercollins.co.in | 4 December 2023

is delighted to present

noted stand-up comedian Kanan Gill’s

wildly entertaining and moving debut novel,

Acts of God

Releasing in January 2024

HarperCollins India is delighted to announce the upcoming publication of powerhouse stand-up comedian, Kanan Gill’s compelling, mind-bending novel, Acts of God. Blending vivid inventiveness and uproarious storytelling, with an intriguing interrogation of the very nature of existence, Acts of God marks the evolution of one of India’s finest comedic voices, and is now available on preorder.

Kanan Gill says, ‘I have been trying my whole life to write a novel that is a pure reflection of my self, and Acts of God is just that —unhinged, silly, experimental, inside-out and part of my search to try and see existence from above. It took three decades but I finally found my feet (they were in my shoes).’

Poulomi Chatterjee, Publisher – HarperCollins India, says, ‘Kanan is an engineer by training and is known for his razor-sharp observations of the world and its denizens and his superb delivery. In Acts of God he brings his many skills and talents into play to craft what is a wild ride of a novel. It’s clever, layered, thoroughly entertaining, and in the tradition of the best comedic SF it uses huge doses of inventiveness and some amazing characters to raise the most existential questions. I can’t wait for readers to discover what lies within its onion peels and find themselves laughing out loud, exclaiming with surprise, moved to tears and pausing for thought, all in turn!’

About Acts of God

Channelling the craft of Neil Gaiman, and the humour and genius of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, Kanan Gill weaves a story that will surprise readers in the best ways possible, raising the most serious of questions: What does it mean to be human?

In Kanan Gill’s wildly entertaining and moving debut novel, a Danish policeman accidentally becomes a clothing-optional leader of a worldwide group of Science Haters, a sentient piece of wall struggles with the limits of its artistic expression, and a lapel pin’s habit of always giving truthful advice causes utter chaos.

Gill puts his own spin on the long tradition of comedic science fiction, achieving a delightful alchemy of humour, imaginativeness and philosophical provocations. Blending vivid inventiveness and uproarious storytelling, with an intriguing interrogation of the very nature of existence, Acts of God marks the evolution of one of India’s finest comedic voices.

Advance Praise 

A brilliantly self-aware and satirical debut, Acts of God confronts all of us with an existential question that nobody was expecting: what if – instead of a [being] writer with an unshakeable inclination towards poetic justice, the Creator was actually a mad scientist?’ – Anees Salim, author of The Blind lady’s Descendants

‘This is an audacious daredevil of a book. Acts of God vaults higher and higher through fireworks of invention and imagination – while somewhere even higher, I thought, the spirits of Douglas Adams and Kurt Vonnegut watch and applaud.’ – Raghu Karnad, author of Farthest Field

‘Kanan Gill is a naughty, weird genius—which, of course, is the perfect kind of genius to be. And Acts of God is a geeky, hilarious, thoroughly entertaining and richly imaginative work of fiction. I couldn’t help but “hear” every sentence in the author’s voice, which adds much charm to the writing, and every second page elicited a chuckle. But don’t let the inevitable laughter deceive you: behind all its lightness is a real talent at storytelling, a bold sense of creativity, and a capacity to hook even somewhat wary readers.’ – Manu S. Pillai, author of The Ivory Throne

About the Author 

Kanan Gill is a writer and comedian from Bangalore, India. Performing worldwide for more than a decade to widespread acclaim, he has written several comedy specials and movies for television, OTTs and film. Acts of God is his first published novel.

PRE-ORDER NOW:

From Crossword at https://www.crossword.in/products/acts-of-god

From Amazon at https://amzn.to/46HuVGz

For more information, please write to – Shabnam.srivastava@harpercollins.co.in