Bath Spa and Beyond! Dev Kothari Q&A

Bringing Back Kay-Kay. Illustration by Tara Anand

Dev Kothari grew up near Mumbai and moved to the UK after graduating with an engineering degree. She continued her studies at the University of Oxford and went onto Bath Spa, graduating in 2020 with a distinction in Writing for Young People. Her first children’s novel, Bringing Back Kay-Kay has been shortlisted for the 2025 Jhalak Prize.

What brought you to Bath Spa?

A couple of years after I began writing, I found myself making steady but slow progress. I knew that in order to narrow the gap between my writing aspirations and my actual writing output, I needed to seriously invest in myself. And having heard such incredible things about the Bath Spa MA, I knew that the course would definitely help accelerate my learning.

I was still worried though that I wouldn't be able to manage doing the programme, while also working full time and with two children still in primary school. But as soon as I reached out to some of the alumni and spoke to the tutors, I realised that I wouldn't find another place that would be as supportive as this one. Doing the Bath Spa MA was one of the best decisions of my life.

How did your anthology piece come about?

Dev Kothari

During the MA, I found the confidence and freedom to experiment and explore which made me fall in love with the process of writing. When we looked at verse novels, I wondered if I could write one too. And then I did just that during the term break. When we looked at second-person narrative, I wondered if I could find a story that would befit this form. And then I did, which became my Manuscript module submission. So, when it was the time for the anthology, I found myself in a very lucky situation to be able to choose from two completed works.

Tell us about your route to publication

In the end, I decided to include the opening extract of the prose novel in the anthology. It became my debut novel, Bringing back Kay-Kay. After the anthology was launched, I signed with the BIA agency, which at that time had two agents - Ben Illis and Rachel Hamilton. Again, since I had two completed novels, I found myself in a wonderful situation where I worked on my prose novel with Rachel and on my verse novel with Ben. Once both novels were ready for submission, we led with the verse novel. Although Walker passed on it, when we sent them the prose one, they made an offer soon after. Having signed with them, I then worked with two editors, Emma Lidbury in the UK and Susan Van Metre in the US ahead of my book's publication. A little after my debut came out, the BIA agency came to a close and I am now represented by Clare Wallace at the Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency.

What was the best piece of advice you received during your time on the MA?

It's hard to pick just one. So, please allow me to share three pieces of advice that I carry with me always. In no particular order:

Steve Voake said that the way to write a story, any story, is to write it word by word.

Dr. Joanna Nadin said that the way to solve your story problems, is by reading other authors and learning from how they do it.

David Almond said that what lies at the heart of every children's story, is hope.

Did you write anything on the course that you would like to return to one day?

Yes! I hope that the verse novel that I wrote during the MA finds a home soon. I would also love to return to a story about a maid's daughter living in the unfair world of modern Mumbai, and another one about a girl who goes on a trip with her ailing grandmother, and another one about two friends who've grown up in a divided city which is now in the process of reuniting. And I am sure there are more stories and characters locked away in all the workshop folders that'll probably make their way into my writing somehow. I genuinely believe that every piece of writing that you do, whether it is a half-formed idea or a character sketch or a snippet of a story, it will, when the time is right, somehow find its place into your work.

Bringing Back Kay-Kay is published by Walker and available in paperback.