HarperCollins Publishers is delighted to announce Ladies’ Tailor, A Novel by Priya Hajela

Determined and brave, Gurdev is part of a group of refugees who travel east from Pakistan after Partition. Like all those around him, he struggles to survive in a world where so much is forever changed: his country, his marriage, a friendship.Will Gurdev be successful in his new business of making garments for women? Will he find love after his wife and children leave his side? There may be uncertainty here, but there is also relentless hope. Journey back in time and experience the refugee spirit as Ladies’ Tailor captures you with all its danger, adventure and romance.

Priya Hajela says: ‘There is something to be said for people who are perfectly organized, meticulous planners. But what happens when those plans get disrupted by war – for that’s what partition was – a civil war. Ladies’ Tailor looks at plans gone off track and lives laid asunder. But it also looks at the stitching back of lost souls, and embellishing them with embroidery and style, with humanity and generosity.’

Prerna Gill, Commissioning Editor, says: ‘Powerful and moving, this book is so much more than the story of one man’s journey following Partition. With evocative prose and strong characters, Ladies’ Tailor is a demonstration of the human spirit’s ability to fight, heal and love even in a world on fire. A rare treat for any reader.’

About the Author:

Priya Hajela is a fiction writer who lives in Pune with her husband and two dogs. Writing is a second career for her. She graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College in Vermont in 2017. Prior to taking to writing, Priya got an MBA from Vanderbilt University in 1992 and worked in a variety of telecom and IT organizations in senior marketing and business development roles for twenty-two years. One of Priya’s short stories, ‘An Affair’, was published in Indian Ruminations. A second short story, ‘The Tattoo Artist’ was published in Live Encounters. A third short story, ‘Daughters’ Revenge’ recently appeared in Kitaab.

 About HarperCollins Publishers India:

HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India is now the recipient of five Publisher of the Year Awards – in 2021 and 2015 at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, and in 2021, 2018 and 2016 at Tata Literature Live. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.