Pasha Malla on the creative mindset needed to be a successful author

Pasha Malla was born in St. John's,grew up in London, Ont., and now lives in Toronto.Malla's debut short story collection,TheWithdrawal Method,was shortlisted for theCommonwealth Prizeand longlisted for theScotiabank Giller Prize and his first novel,People Park, was a finalist for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award.

• Who would portray novelist Pasha Malla in the biopic of his life?

His latest, the novelFugue States, explores the problematic nature of tourism, the evolution of modern masculinity, the nature of father-son relationships and how we use stories to make sense of our lives.

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CBC Bookstalked toMallafor the latest instalment of the Why I Write series.

Prescriptive behaviours

"My most recent book is a novel called Fugue States. The book is about the idea of prescriptions the scripts that exist for certain people in our society. The book is meant to challenge dominant narratives and open up lines of inquiry into things that we maybe take for granted."

• Why novelist PashaMallais challenging the way we tell stories

The inherent value of literature

"One of the challenges is for all writers is existing within a culture that is starting to value what we doless and less. It's about finding ways to exist financially and to remain culturally relevant without compromising what it is that makes our books uniqueand aninvaluable part of our society.

"I define success in being able to write another book. That's kind of it."

Pasha Malla'scomments have been edited for length and clarity.

CBC Books'sWhy I Write series features authors speaking on what literature means to them. Shot on location at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre during the 2018 Canadian Writers' Summit.

• Episode #1:Catherine Hernandez
• Episode #2:Shyam Selvadurai
• Episode #3:Drew Hayden Taylor
• Episode #4:FarzanaDoctor
• Episode #5: TrishSalah
• Episode #6:Adam Dickinson