May is Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, but true diversity and inclusivity is so much more than a heritage month. Join authors Gayatri Sethi, Celeste Mohammed, and Adiba Jaigirdar as they discuss what AANHPI Heritage Month entails, who it includes and who it excludes, and what lies beyond heritage months.

Adiba Jaigirdar is the critically-acclaimed and bestselling author of The Henna Wars and Hani & Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating. A Bangladeshi/Irish writer and teacher, she has an MA in Postcolonial Studies from the University of Kent, England and a BA in English and History from UCD, Ireland. All of her writing is aided by tea, and a healthy dose of Janelle Monáe and Hayley Kiyoko. When not writing, she is probably ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, or expanding her overflowing lipstick collection. She can be found at adibajaigirdar.com or @adiba_j on Twitter and @dibs_j on Instagram.

Celeste Mohammed is a Trinidadian lawyer-turned-writer. Her debut novel-in-stories, Pleasantview, was released in the USA in Spring 2021 and in the UK in Fall 2021. Celeste holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the recipient of a 2018 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She was also awarded the 2019 Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction, and the 2017 John D Gardner Memorial Prize for Fiction.

Gayatri Sethi (PhD) is an educator, writer, and independent consultant. She teaches and writes about Social Justice, Global Studies, and Comparative Education. Born in Tanzania and raised in Botswana, she is of Punjabi descent, multilingual, and polycultural. She reflects on these lifelong experiences of identity, immigration, and belonging in her debut non-fiction book titled Unbelonging. She is also the co-founder of the Desi KidLit community, an initiative to build solidarity among South Asian diaspora writers for young people. When she is not reading or recommending reads on Instagram as @desibookaunty, she is envisioning traveling and gathering in community safely again.