Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE

@thresholdrose

author. phd scholar. rose on the threshold. myth, memory, history, poetry. short fiction in strange horizons, fsf, and anthologies including 'a case of indian marvels'. for debut novel pre-orders and info:

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Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 4d

inhale exhale

A picture of a tree-covered stone bridge under which a river is flowing, its waters reflecting light and greenery

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 7d

Cover reveal for the @littlebrown.bsky.social edition of THE POISON PALACE, about Eka, a poison maiden who is sent to kill Alexander when he invades ancient India. Cover art by the brilliant @micaelaalcaino.bsky.social. Pre-orders: linktr.ee/shreyaila Out January 2027!

A book cover for THE POISON PALACE against a swirling yellow patterned background. The cover itself has a dark blue background with red and gold detailing. It shows a young femme person between two red pillars, wearing a red and gold outfit and wrapped all over with a green snake. The pillars are covered with gold leaves and white flowers, and have war helmets facing outward and accompanied by green snakes with their maws open on the bottom of each pillar. The author's name is written below the figure: Shreya Ila Anasuya.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 8d

Re-watched Bombay Talkies (2013) and got teary-eyed again at Zoya Akhtar's sweet little film about Vicky, who is forced to play football but dreams of becoming a dancer

A film still showing a little child with brown skin and short dark hair wearing a multicoloured patterned top with multiple bead necklaces and clip on earrings, as well as make up and admiring their reflection in the mirror

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 9d

'In the garden, egrets are doing their stalking dance, and it’s easy to see how they are really feathered dinosaurs flown in through a hole from the past. Somewhere, a city under siege remains sleepless.' Tishani Doshi, 'Egrets, While War'

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 10d

Jeté (1975), Enzo Plazzotta

A sculpture of a ballet dancer performing a leap, with cloth draped around the dancers' waist billowing out behind them. Several trees full of green leaves are visible behind the sculpture.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 11d

'I tell people love is easy. It’s the way the body will leaven and rise and crack to keep love fed that really makes you weep.' Nikita Deshpande

Post Partum

Nikita Deshpande

I tell people I have the yellows.

Gelatinous shade of Omega 3 capsules
with their fish oil aftertaste and films
about angry White men in Bangladesh,
placid shade of egg salad
left out long after the picnic is done,
oppressive shade of summer joy
dulled by the blade of thirst.
Colour of get what you want but not what you need,
Van Gogh’s stars, bile and birdseed,
sedate heart of chamomile, the chaff of wheat,
smile-shaped scar showing its betadine teeth.
Best paired with May’s gulmohars,
bleeding into sky, staining streets,
koyals whistling themselves to sludge-thick sleep.
I tell people love is easy. It’s the way the body
will leaven and rise and crack to keep love fed
that really makes you weep.

Happy tears? people ask. So happy.
I tell them my gratitude is like the sun.
In turns it ripens, in turns it spoils.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 11d

'then wait for me, / I'll be that place' Kim Moore

Motherhood as Refuge

In the next life, if you’re a mouse,
I’ll be tall grass so you can run unnoticed,
or if you’re a brown rat, I’ll be a garden shed
that you can burrow under, if you’re a seabird
I’ll be an island you can nest on, if you’re a fish
I’ll come out in colours as a coral reef,
if you’re a spider, I’ll be a brick wall
with a creephole for you to hide in,
or if in another life, you find yourself
to be a bat, I’ll be the dark you need to hunt in,
I’ll be the barn you need to roost in,
or maybe you’ll find that you’ve come back
as a rarity, a Walney geranium that grows
only in one place, in all the world –
then wait for me, I’ll be that place, I’ll turn myself
into Walney Island, a strip and spit of land
grey seals can haul themselves upon,
and if you become a buff-tailed bumble bee,
I’ll be the compost heap you sleep in,
and even if you come back as something darker,
something harder – a tumour perhaps,
maybe you need a body to live inside,
I will give you mine, here is my bowel,
it will keep you safe from harm, I’ll put myself
to the bottom of every waiting list, turn down
the operation, this was the bargain,
the promise I made, my life as refuge,
my life as harbour, my life for yours each time.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 13d

"Hello, my name is Bean Queen, breakfast was late, prepare to die."

A picture of a black and white cat in a funny contorted pose, on a whiteboard marked 'Pet of the Week', and the text Inigo Bean Queen Montoya

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 13d

Ah yes, a famously non-bigoted stance.

Text reads:

David Goodhart
It is not necessarily bigoted to want to preserve a majority-white Britain

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 14d

One more blurb from another writer I deeply admire; the great Ruth Padel.

Yellow and white text against a green background reads "Such an unusual, intelligent and lucidly written book, which opens up an old story with the most surprising glints and insights. Ruth Padel, author of Tigers in Red Weather" On either side of the quote are crumbling pillars resembling the Pataliputra capital, covered with green leaves and white and yellow flowers. Below the quote is the cover of The Poison Palace, surrounded by blue snake heads. The cover shows many of the same elements, the pillars and snakes, alongside the back of a figure of a person with dark brown skin and black hair, wearing golden ornaments in their hair, ears and around their neck.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 14d

THE POISON PALACE is a historical myth-retelling rooted in ancient folklore, about the true cost of Alexander the Great's empire-building, and what happens when a poison maiden gets to tell her own story. Dead women do tell tales. Coming Jan 2027. Preorders live! #BookSky linktr.ee/shreyaila

Yellow and white text against a green background reads "A story of power, love, survival and resistance, meticulously researched, lyrically written and structurally ambition. A stunning debut. Samit Basu, author of The City Inside" On either side of the quote are crumbling pillars resembling the Pataliputra capital, covered with green leaves and white and yellow flowers. Below the quote is the cover of The Poison Palace, surrounded by blue snake heads. The cover shows many of the same elements, the pillars and snakes, alongside the back of a figure of a person with dark brown skin and black hair, wearing golden ornaments in their hair, ears and around their neck.

Yellow and white text against a green background reads "The Poison Palace is a dazzling debut... Shreya Ila Anasuya has entwined fantasy with myth and history to give us a novel as rare as the fabled snake-jewel. It will doubtless snag readers in both East and West. Annie Zaidi, author of Bread, Cement, Cactus" On either side of the quote are crumbling pillars resembling the Pataliputra capital, covered with green leaves and white and yellow flowers. Below the quote is the cover of The Poison Palace, surrounded by blue snake heads. The cover shows many of the same elements, the pillars and snakes, alongside the back of a figure of a person with dark brown skin and black hair, wearing golden ornaments in their hair, ears and around their neck.

Yellow and white text against a green background reads "A gorgeous, sensual, completely captivating novel that immerses the reader in an ancient world and history, at once recognizable and utterly remote from our own. Elizabeth Hand, author of A Haunting on the Hill." On either side of the quote are crumbling pillars resembling the Pataliputra capital, covered with green leaves and white and yellow flowers. Below the quote is the cover of The Poison Palace, surrounded by blue snake heads. The cover shows many of the same elements, the pillars and snakes, alongside the back of a figure of a person with dark brown skin and black hair, wearing golden ornaments in their hair, ears and around their neck.

Yellow and white text against a green background reads "A graceful, fiery verisimilitude both intimate and mythic - it resounds in time, and sings to the present with a singular voice. Don't miss it. Indra Das, author of the Devourers" On either side of the quote are crumbling pillars resembling the Pataliputra capital, covered with green leaves and white and yellow flowers. Below the quote is the cover of The Poison Palace, surrounded by blue snake heads. The cover shows many of the same elements, the pillars and snakes, alongside the back of a figure of a person with dark brown skin and black hair, wearing golden ornaments in their hair, ears and around their neck.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· 18d

In solidarity with students protesting corruption, indigenous communities seeking justice for stolen land, farmers, communities standing against "AI townships", and the minorities most targeted and despised by this regime who still show up for the young people of their land. #indiaprotests

Black text against beige background reads:

Weather Report

Although this week is unremarkable, this weekend the weather will turn
for the first time in some years. For many children it will be
the first time in their lives with the weather so unsettled by the
lightning striking the tower. Likelihood of storm, torrential,
though we are doing our best to control it. Keep your children
indoors, for children are liable to get hurt in the citadel of forgetting
where cockroaches are said to fall relentlessly from the sky.
They keep coming although we beat them back, although the last
time we saw a rain this potent we contained it through our special
procedures of derision, silence, brutality, demolition, and deflection.
They keep coming back, although we bought and sold the university,
The court, the forest, the ocean, and what is left of the river. They
keep coming back, the houses we buried, the jail cells, the gun shots
calling their siren melodies. They refuse the midnight sun. They eat
what they have not been sanctioned. Finding themselves no longer
shielded from bursting, they arrive, unsettled, bringing the deluge.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Jun 23

THE POISON PALACE: A NOVEL is for you if you're interested in non-romanticised portrayals of both the ancient world and Alexander, contrary to conservative ideals of a 'glorious golden' past; if you're into queer femme retellings of very old myths; if you're into animism.

A silver coin depicting the head of Alexander of Macedon

A depiction of a deity with a high forehead, large eyes, hair piled on top of their head, and a five hooded snake rising behind them as their crown

A stamp featuring a statue depicting a yaksha from Indian mythology, in a soft red colour; the yaksha is wearing a lower body garment, a necklace, and a headdress, with his arms extended above his head; the left arm is broken. Text, in white, says: Archaeological Survey of India, 1861-1961, India 15 n P postage, Pitalkhora: Yaksha, India Security Press

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Jun 20

Happy solstice, from the ground under this chestnut tree. ☀️

A picture showing several trees, the closest being a chestnut, and a sky dappled by many white clouds.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· May 21

🐍 Cover Reveal 🐍 THE POISON PALACE retells the story of Alexander the Great's invasion of India from the point of view of a courtesan sent to assassinate him. Out with Dutton Books in Jan 2027, will link to pre-orders below. #booksky #amwriting #debutnovel #books

A book cover with a green background (and against a green background) and the image of a femme person with her back to the viewer. She is wearing a red upper garment and gold tone jewellery in her hair, ears, neck, and arms, and a five-headed snake is wrapped around her neck. On both sides of her are two crumbling ornate pillars, wrapped all over with oleander and datura flowers. The text says THE POISON PALACE: A NOVEL by Shreya Ila Anasuya

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· May 20

Here it is, the gorgeous US cover for THE POISON PALACE, a re-telling of the story of Alexander's invasion of the Indian subcontinent through the point of view of a vishkanya (the poison maiden of Indian myth). This is my debut, the book I gave everything of myself to, and now I send it out to you.

A book cover with a green background, and the image of a femme person with her back to the viewer. She is wearing a red upper garment and gold tone jewellery in her hair, ears, neck, and arms, and a five-headed snake is wrapped around her neck. On both sides of her are two crumbling ornate pillars, wrapped all over with oleander and datura flowers. The text says THE POISON PALACE: A NOVEL by Shreya Ila Anasuya

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· May 14

Et voila

An image of film actress Rekha in black and white, dressed in a v neck outfit, and a headdress, many layered necklace, bangles, rings and earrings, staring directly at the camera whilst holding a dagger

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· May 9

You're screwed if they're real, your fate they do seal, they're the Moirai!

A Flemish tapestry depicting the Moirai, or three Fates, atop a body

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· May 4

Dark day in a dark decade for India. The last strongholds against the BJP are being felled, thoroughly and systematically. Beyond frightening to imagine what is coming.

Text of a tweet posted by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta reads

To my mind, this Bengal election is a litmus test of whether we have fallen below the minimum threshold of electoral integrity, whether electoral democracy has any future at all. I cannot get into numbers, but all the credible information that I have been able to gather so far points to a comfortable lead for the TMC, more than enough to make up for the SIR damage. If despite this the ECI manages to conjure a victory for BJP, this has to be the result of an electoral fraud. Such an (unlikely, despite what exit polls say) event must get the entire opposition to come together and ask if there is any point of contesting any more elections under these circumstances. — Yogendra Yadav

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Apr 27

Stopping, an erasure poem by Mary Ruefle

A copy of Robert Frost's famous poem 'Stopping by the woods on a snowy evening', turned into an erasure poem by Mary Ruefle, who has whited out most of the words. The poem now reads:

STOPPING

(white marks) I think I know
(white marks)
(white marks)
(white marks) now

(white marks)
(white marks) a (white marks)
(white marks) frozen (white marks)
(white marks) year

(white marks)
(white marks)
The only (white marks) the sound's the (white marks) weep
Of (white marks)

(white marks)
(white marks) promises (white marks)
And (white marks)
(white marks) sleep.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Apr 26

Dog in question.

A grey dog with a collar on waiting on a concrete street, staring at the camera.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Apr 18

For those of us who need a little spell against despair on this new moon. From Poetry Chaikhana, Lal Ded translated by Ranjit Hoskote.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Mar 21

Met someone very important today.

A little brown indie puppy on the street, looking up towards the camera. The puppy has a black snout, dark brown eyes, and a white chest and paws.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Mar 15

Found this little guy in Delhi

A close up shot of a small Indian palm squirrel

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Dec 10

Saleem Kidwai was a renowned historian and translator, an editor, and a queer elder. He was also a close friend of legendary singer Begum Akhtar. This Sunday I will have the great pleasure of talking about them for the curtain-raiser of this year's Sanatkada Festival in Kolkata:

A graphic with a green and red background and ornate black and white border, and the Lucknow Bioscope and Sanatkada Festival logos. Text above image reads: 'A Noteless Raga': Saleem Kidwai and Begum Akhtar by Shreya Ila Anasuya, and text below image reads 14th Dec 2025, Sunday 6.30 pm, Studio Bari, Kolkata. Image shows a black and white picture of Shreya wearing a saree and her long dark hair swept to her right shoulder.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Dec 8

Kolkata on a Sunday.

A river, light blue and grey, with a pale sun and hazy bridge in the distance. In the foreground to the left are clustered some small boats, one more is in the centre, and one further to the right. There are buildings visible to the right, beyond the furthest boat.

Shreya Ila Anasuya - THE POISON PALACE@thresholdrose· Mar 10

Doing this workshop on Sunday the 16th – the timings are IST but anyone anywhere can join – all proceeds go directly to families in Gaza. Please join/amplify.