Hafeez Lakhani, author of ABUNDANCE
Hafeez Lakhani was born in Hyderabad, India and raised in suburban South Florida. His fiction and essays have appeared in Crazyhorse, Exposition Review, Salt Hill, Tikkun, The Cortland Review, and The Southern Review, and have garnered fellowships from PEN America and The Center for Fiction. He was twice recognized with a Notable Essay in Best American Essays and twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He was profiled by the Huffington Post as one of “Eight Fantastic New Writers to Look Out For.” His debut novel, Abundance, following five members of an American Muslim family across Miami, New York, Monaco, and Gujarat, was a People Magazine Most Anticipated Book of 2026.
Hafeez and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett talk about how he knew the novel idea had legs and how he committed to it for the long haul: 12 years in the making! They also talk about when you know a novel is done, how to use your critique groups’ feedback, using a Venn diagram, not going to an MFA program, and much more.
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(Recorded on April 28, 2026)
Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
Host: Marrie Stone
Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)