How to Fail as a Popstar

• This is Vivek Shraya's sixth book with Arsenal; her previous books include the children's picture book The Boy & the Bindi, the YA collection God Loves Hair, the novel She of the Mountains, the poetry book even this page is white, and the graphic novel Death Threat. She is also the author of the 2020 novel The Subtweet (ECW Press) and the essay I'm Afraid of Men (Penguin Canada). Her experience as a trans woman of South Asian descent informs her books and other projects, which include visual art, music, and fashion.• How to Fail as a Popstar is her first stage play; it premiered in 2020 at Canadian Stage in Toronto. A one-person show that combines music and monologue (both performed by Vivek), it chronicles Vivek's journey from a young South Asian boy who was an outcast at school to would-be female pop star. Her "failure" to achieve superstardom is an exploration of the dichotomy between her ambitions and the barriers put up against her as a trans woman of color.• The book includes a foreword by Brendan Healy, a Canadian theater performer who directed the Canadian Stage production. It also includes a section of8 full-color photographs from the Toronto production.• There are plans to tour the show (including in the US) but these were interrupted by the pandemic. In the event the pandemic prevents in-person events in spring 2021, Vivek will be doing numerous online excerpts from the show (including her music) in support of the book.