Then the Fish Swallowed Him is Amir Ahmadi Arian’s acclaimed first novel in English after a career as a journalist, author and translator in Iran. Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer is a psychology professor and science writer who has turned to fiction with her first novel, a hypnotic thriller: The Mask Collectors.

Nancy Star talks to these two compelling debut novelists, accomplished in other fields, about what drew them to fiction, and what they have learned and gained from writing their first novel. The event will be held live on Crowdcast; register and view here.

All authors appear for free and the best way to thank and support them is by buying their books!Amir’s, Ruvanee’s, and Nancy’s books are available from Festival partner Watchung Booksellers here.

Amir Ahmadi Arian started out as a journalist in Iran in 2000 and has since published a collection of stories, a nonfiction book, and two novels in Persian. He currently lives in New York where he earned an MFA in the NYU Creative Writing Program as The Axinn Foundation/E.L. Doctorow Fellowship recipient, and teaches literature and creative writing at CUNY City College.

Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer is the author of The Mask Collectors, a literary thriller set in New Jersey and Sri Lanka. She is also the author of a collection of short stories, The Water Diviner and Other Stories, which won the Iowa Short Fiction Award. Until recently, she had a day job as a psychology professor at New York University. She lives in New Jersey.

This event is part of Succeed2gether’s Montclair Literary Festival’s special series of author events, Global Voices. See all of the talks here.

Any proceeds from the festival benefit parent organization, Montclair-based non-profit Succeed2gether, which offers after-school one-on-one tutoring and enrichment classes with the aim of closing the education and opportunity gaps in Essex County, NJ. You can read more about Succeed2gether and the festival at www.succeed2gether.org.