Neema Avashia Non-Member Joined 2024

Expatalachian CNF writer

Nonfiction

Neema Avashia is the proud daughter of Indian immigrants, and was born and raised in southern West Virginia. She has been an educator and activist in the Boston Public Schools since 2003. Her first book, Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place, was published by West Virginia University Press in March 2022. The book was named Best LGBTQ Memoir of 2022 by BookRiot, was one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2022, and was a finalist for the New England Book Award, the Weatherford Award, and a Lambda Literary Award. Avashia was a recipient of the ACLU of West Virginia's 2024 Roger Baldwin Award for her work on behalf of LGBTQIA+ West Virginians. Her second book, ANOTHER MOTHERHOOD, will be published by Beacon Press in April 2027. She lives in Boston with her partner, Laura, and their daughter, Kahani.