{"id":1404,"date":"2025-01-22T08:40:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T13:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/?post_type=cu_story&p=1404"},"modified":"2025-01-22T08:44:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T13:44:00","slug":"from-carleton-grad-to-accomplished-novelist","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/story\/from-carleton-grad-to-accomplished-novelist\/","title":{"rendered":"From Carleton Grad to Accomplished Novelist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n From Carleton Grad to Accomplished Novelist\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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Priya Ramsingh (BA \u201993) has always had a way with words. From her early passion for literature to her career as a novelist, her path hasn\u2019t always been linear, but it has been filled with perseverance and purpose. Now, with a new book and a wealth of experience behind her, Ramsingh reflects on her journey from English student to accomplished novelist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramsingh graduated from Carleton in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature. During her studies, she was drawn to Canadian novelists like Margaret Laurence and Margaret Atwood but pursued communications and marketing roles shortly after graduation. She drew from her writing background to establish herself in the corporate world and began freelancing as a reporter for the Etobicoke Guardian,<\/em> alongside other magazines and publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s funny is that I came out of school with an English degree, and for some reason, I stopped writing fiction,\u201d said Ramsingh.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Ramsingh said she knew she had a book inside her from a young age, despite pursuing a career in business writing and journalism. She began writing fiction again in her 30s but put the project she was working on at the time aside to concentrate on her communications career. She knew it was time to start writing fiction again when a negative experience she encountered in the workplace prompted her to briefly leave the corporate world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne day I sat down and those bad experiences started to come to the surface, so I started writing,\u201d says Ramsingh. \u201cI was diagnosed with breast cancer and was at home for six months, so I finished my first book in that time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ramsingh\u2019s first novel Brown Girl in the Room<\/em> is loosely based on her experiences in the corporate world. The book sparked her career as a novelist, and she hasn\u2019t stopped writing fiction since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her latest book, The Elevator, <\/em>draws inspiration from her own experience of running into a person she encountered on a dating app in her Toronto apartment building. She said readers can expect a quick read but stresses that it covers a few difficult topics and doesn\u2019t follow the formula of a traditional romance novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Ramsingh continues to write about topics like diversity and environmentalism for the Toronto Star <\/em>and considers herself an advocate for anyone or anything without a voice.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\u201cI write about things that I\u2019m passionate about,\u201d says Ramsingh. \u201cEvents will spark something in me, so I\u2019ll sit down and write an op-ed about it and sent it to my editor.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Since beginning her career as a novelist, she\u2019s even met Margaret Atwood \u2013 one of her earliest inspirations \u2013 who she asked to support a Bill tabled in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Bill, which would mandate that all new construction in the province features bird-safe windows, received Atwood\u2019s enthusiastic support and voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing that I studied her work in university and then I got to meet and work with her,\u201d said Ramsingh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramsingh expressed that, no matter how hard she tried to get away from writing, it always found her again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019d be discouraged because of how tough writing is. But every time I tried to change paths, somebody would come out of the blue and tell me I was a good writer,\u201d said Ramsingh. \u201cThese instances would continue to push me and give me the encouragement I needed to persevere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what words of wisdom she had for newer members of the Carleton alumni community, she stressed the importance of following your instincts and surrounding yourself with people who are invested in your success.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cDon\u2019t put too much pressure on yourself because nobody has it all. Follow your dreams but be practical about it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Ramsingh\u2019s final piece of advice: “Check your envy when observing the success of others around you. When others seem to be thriving, remind yourself to keep an eye on your own prize and celebrate others as you would yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you compare yourself to someone else, you\u2019re living someone else\u2019s dream.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ramsingh said she knew she had a book inside her from a young age, despite pursuing a career in business writing and journalism. She began writing fiction again in her 30s but put the project she was working on at the time aside to concentrate on her communications career. She knew it was time to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":1443,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[36,25,37],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-1404","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-alumni","cu_story_type-general","cu_story_type-home"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/1404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/1404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1448,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/1404\/revisions\/1448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=1404"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=1404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}