Meet Olivia Abtahi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Abtahi.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I began writing primarily as a screenwriter in film school at NYU. But when I graduated it was tough to find folks who could turn my scripts into feature films. I transitioned to copywriting, which was a form of writing but still left me unfulfilled.

It wasn’t until I moved to Denver that I took the plunge into writing novels. I knew nobody in the city and had learned about something called NaNoWriMo, aka National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org), which encouraged writers to draft a novel in 30 days, doing 1,666 words a day. I gave it a shot and subsequently sold that first book.

Now, I am lucky enough to be represented by a wonderful agent and have multiple contracts through Penguin Random House.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think one of the hardest things about my writing journey has been allowing myself to even think of myself as a writer. I’ve never taken an actual creative course, and it was hard to give myself permission to tell my own stories because I thought I wasn’t qualified.

Doing something like NaNoWriMo helped because there were so many other folks writing their first novel, too. From there the challenge was learning how the publishing industry worked and polishing my manuscript and query letter. I was probably rejected about 60+ times. Even after the book sold, rejections for it would keep pouring in.

It was tough to stay positive but I’m glad I stuck to it. I ended up getting my dream agent and that made all the hardship worth it.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a young adult, middle grade, and picture book author. I specialize in telling stories from the POV of mixed-race children, usually in the first person. My main characters are very unreliable narrators, and I enjoy writing those protagonists so we can see the process and correct their flaws throughout the book.

My debut novel, “Perfectly Parvin” follows 14-year-old Parvin Mohammadi as she struggles to get a Homecoming date after being brutally dumped on her first day of high school. It’s a fun, fast book that touches on heavier themes of self-acceptance and xenophobia.

I think what sets it apart, and myself, from other books in this category is that it’s secretly serious. People report snorting their way through this book in laughter and then abruptly switching to sobs. I would say my writing style is hysterical, in both the good and bad sense of the word. I’m proud of that balance.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Starting out, I wish I hadn’t been so hard on myself. I took every rejection as proof that I wasn’t meant to be a writer and let it tear me down.

My advice is to go easy on yourself and keep at it. When it comes to being an author “the hustle” and “the grind” is really just showing up in front of your Word document the day after rejection and deciding that your story is still worth it.

It is. It’s always, always worth it.

Contact Info:

• Email: oliviaabtahibooks@gmail.com
• Website: www.oliviaabtahi.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/oliviaabtahi
• Other: https://bookshop.org/a/4384/9780593109427

Image Credits
Heritage & Bloom Torch Media, and Taylor Powers Photography