05 Feb 2013
Staff Writer
Porschia Paxton / Intern
An art fiction book telling the story of a woman fresh out of college working in an art gallery in Delhi, India, is the premise of a book written by UNT art history master’s student, Ankita Kapoor.
The book was released as an e-book Jan. 10 by Pegasus Books. A hard copy version of the book titled “Arty Facts” is scheduled for release on Feb. 14.
Kapoor, from Lucknow, India, studied five years in New Delhi. She received a master of fine arts degree in painting from the Dehli College of Arts and worked for three years, she said. She then went on to work at an art gallery for a year.
“That is where the story came to my mind,” Kapoor said.
The plotline that her book follows tells some ofdivulges her experiences with her two jobs, along with some of her friend’s experiences, who have also worked in galleries.
“It’s partly a work of fiction and partly some of my experiences all mingled together,” Kapoor said.
She said the book talks about gossiping in workplaces, a very “prevalent” habit among the workers. The book also discusses harassment from bosses.
After working in the art gallery, Kapoor said she worked as a journalist for two years at the Times of India newspaper. A year after that she worked in Delhi at a fashion magazine for a year.
“I had a lot of free time over there, that’s when I started writing this book. I just love writing, that’s what I do in my free time,” Kapoor said. “I was looking back at my life and I was just thinking it’s been quite interesting, why not write about it?”
Kapoor credits her husband, for whom she moved to Texas, as being the one to really encourage her writing. She said he edited her book before sending it out to publishers.
Kapoor also said the book “Arty Facts” is the first of a trilogy. She had initially combined all three books, but decided to break them up. She says that the first book took her about two months to write.
“I had no clue this would actually get published,” Kapoor said.
Marcus McGee, a Pegasus editor, said Kapoor submitted her information on their website. The company then called her and asked for a sample of her writing. After that, they wanted to read the rest of the book.
“We were very interested in her book,” McGee said. “Her story was what we were looking for.”
Kapoor continues to edit the second and third books, which will be published in the future.
Dr. Nada Shabout, a professor of Kapoor’s, sees her as a passionate student.
“I look forward to reading her novel soon and possibly assigning it to a class,” Shabout said.
