Description
Lady of the House
A novel by Katie Sanyal
ISBN: 978-1-963695-31-1 paperback $22.95
ISBN: 978-1-963695-32-8 ebook $9.99
June 17, 2025
After inheriting her late grandmother’s property in the deep forests of Georgia, twenty-two-year-old Clara Graham is forced to return to the beautiful, magical house where she lived briefly during childhood. But as she finds herself submerged in the dark secrets her grandmother left behind, she must face her own terrifying childhood memories that have come crawling back into the light, demanding a reckoning.
Praise for Lady of the House, a novel by Katie Sanyal
Lady of the House is a contemporary Southern gothic mystery about intergenerational trauma and the value of belonging. Katie Sanyal takes us on a journey of recovery and redemption that ripples through time over the course of 70 years to illustrate how one woman’s past first haunts and then heals her future. Sanyal’s novel is not only a powerful portrait of self-discovery but a deft lesson in how monsters are not born but made. A bold debut.—Lindsey Drager, author of The Archive of Alternate Endings and The Lost Daughter Collective
Katie Sanyal’s haunted debut novel, Lady of the House, sojourns knee-deep into Flannery O’Connor country. Killer tornadoes and godly racists and illicit skeletons in every closet make us pee our collective pants. Face to face with the “… terrible and wonderful things within [our] hearts.” Sanyal’s beautiful monsters “…inhabit a place beyond past or present, the open sea of memory.”—Michael Gills, author of Before All Who Have Ever Seen This Disappear
In her debut novel, Lady of the House, author Katie Sanyal has crafted a beautiful world in which she explores the emotional weight of living in a broken world. It is a story of personal growth, ghosts of the past, and a house in Georgia filled with secrets.—Gillian Ruppel, author of Paper Stars
Katie Sanyal has a talent for creating complex, relatable, nostalgic stories filled with characters who feel like friends. In Sanyal’s first novel, Lady of the House, you come for the magic and mystery, and stay for the heartfelt story about identity, family, and growing up.—Lauren Wigod, author of Blue Birdie
Reviews & Interviews for Lady of the House
The University of Utah’s Honors College is thrilled to announce that Katie Sanyal will be publishing her debut novel after participating in Dr. Michael Gills’s Novel Writing Workshop. A senior in the Honors College studying English, Katie exemplifies the kind of student who fully embraces the unique opportunities the University of Utah provides. In fact, the Novel Writing Workshop was one of the key reasons Katie chose to join the Honors College.
Katie’s debut novel, Lady of the House, follows a young Asian American woman whose life changes drastically when she inherits her grandmother’s house in the South. “While it’s by no means an autobiography, it’s loosely based on my own experiences and places I’ve been,” Sanyal explains. The novel delves into themes like racial identity, mental health, and navigating life in your 20s.
Each spring, Professor Gills selects ten students for his course, assigning a summer reading list and mapping exercises. Students analyze novels for elements like point of view, structure, and character to inspire their own writing. Throughout the fall and spring semesters, they write two pages daily, producing about 150 pages each semester, with Professor Gills offering ongoing support. By year’s end, each student completes a rough draft of an original novel, and Katie is among those whose hard work will be published! “It was one of the hardest but best experiences I’ve had in college.” Katie explains. She claims that the environment of the class was incredibly supportive and motivated her to complete her novel. Katie was also the recipient of the 2023 Honors Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award.
Katie’s book launch will take place in early April 10th, with the novel officially releasing on June 16th, 2025. Congratulations, Katie, on this incredible achievement!
Tia Wisco | Journalism Intern, University of Utah Honors College
Katie Sanyal is a debut novelist from Utah with roots in Georgia. She is an English major currently studying at the University of Utah. When she is not writing, she is reading, and when she is not reading, she can be found enjoying Salt Lake City with her friends and family.
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