I can still remember when the editor-in-chief at a national newspaper asked me to try my paw at a creative non-fiction piece for the editorial pages. My first response was to sulk. A lot. But a few articles later I was hooked. Feeling very much like the cat that had got the cream.

Unfettered from the restrictions of literary journalism which must surrender to facts and fact-based research while establishing balance in the views presented— Creative Non-Fiction offers a freedom of sorts. The narrative lends itself to the author’s gaze alone. And everyone and their cat has got this memo. The quest is not that of universal truth. Only the writer’s lived experience or memory. Purely that which they are willing to explore. As such, this genre favours the traditions of fiction in terms of arc and structure. While also asking a journalist’s questions: why tell this story and why now?

The Devil in the Punundrum and The Skeleton no Longer Living in My Closet hit the mark and more. Both offer highly personal accounts. Before asking important questions. (No spoilers here!) It was a joy to accompany each writer on their journey and to discuss what inspired them to pen their respective pieces. Every tale has a backstory. Sumanya Velamur and Merrin Abraham entertained my unabashed nosiness. We also bridged cross-border cultural gaps. That they did so with such patience was enough to make a cat smile.