creative writing
Book
OF BRIDGES AMONG US. Palimpsest Publishers, 2015.
(Written under the name Neeru Iyer)
The world of Of Bridges Among Us is inhabited by interesting characters — porn actors weighed down by family values, lesbians coming out to their families, suspicious homemakers, and a mentally ill man in confinement with a love for mangoes — and each person has a unique story to tell.
micro, flash & short fiction
"Suckling," CRAFT Literary, January 2022 | Finalist, CRAFT Short Fiction Prize
"Cleaning the Bathroom and Other Chores You Won't Do," Cobalt Press (The Weekly), September 2021
"Ambition," Stonecoast Review, Summer 2021 (print)
"A dirge for a sound long unheard," The Maine Review, May 2021| Nominee, Best of the Net | Nominee, Pushcart Prize
"How to Lose Weight in 30 Days," South Florida Poetry Journal, May 2021
"New Shoes," GASHER Journal, May 2021
"A Quick Dip," Middle House Review, March 2021
"Do You Always Remember Your Way Home?" Flash Fiction Magazine, March 2021
"Closet," Cleaver Magazine, March 2020
"Witch Hunt," Barely South Review, Fall 2019 | Honorary Mention, The Norton Girault Literary Prize in Fiction 2019
"Exit a Goddess," The Forge Literary Magazine, October 2019 | Nominee, Pushcart Prize
"Breathe," Hypertext Magazine, July 2019
"In the Time of Hard Rain," The Equator Line, April 2016
"A Life Without Stars," The Equator Line, October 2015
"Of Scars from Motorbikes and Men," Sahitya Akademi's Indian Literature, July 2015
"Besieged," The Equator Line, January 2015
"Moonwalker," The Equator Line, April 2015
"The Siris Flowers," The Equator Line, October 2014
"Fever," in The Legendary, August 2014
"Waiting for Hero," The Equator Line, January 2014
"She's Not Afraid of Spiders," The Equator Line, June 2012
poetry
"Attachment" and "How to Talk to a Married Woman," The Quail Bell Magazine, April 2017
"That Time of the Night," Kitaab, August 2016
"Dear Lover," The Adirondack Review, Winter 2014
"Mist," The Rusty Nail, October 2012
"Dew," Open Road Review, July 2012
NONFICTION/HUMOR
"The Box That Turns Us into Idiots," The Equator Line, April 2013
BOOK REVIEWS
Quantum Convention by Eric Schlich, Mid-American Review, Spring 2019
The Science of Lost Futures by Ryan Habermeyer, Mid-American Review, Winter 2018
interviews, PRESS, ETC.
Interview, The Forge Literary Magazine, October 2019
Neeru Iyer's Six Must-Reads, The Express Tribune, May 2016
Stories that evoke emotions, The Tribune, January 2016
Of love and beyond, The Express Tribune, January 2016
Of Bridges Among Us: Exploring unconventional relationships, Business Standard, November 2015
Praise for Neeru
“Neeru is a very gifted writer, who creates a sense of people coping with a multilayered reality, each one defending his or her space. She is austere in her sketches, but we get a lovely sense of the world as it really is, across class and gender divides. She negotiates with moral roads at cross purposes, and has a sense of ownership of these conflicting worldviews. Readers will look forward to her continuing to write poetry and prose in the years to come.” — Susan Visvanathan, author of Adi Sankara and Other Stories
“A refreshing array of complex characters interwoven with the universal themes of love, loyalty, betrayal, and second chances... A delightful peek into contemporary India's unique challenges, the fragility of human relationships, and the breakdown of age-old cultural boundaries.” — Shobhan Bantwal, bestselling author of The Dowry Bride and other novels
“Some very compelling voices of women are to be heard in [Neeru's] stories—voices of women who remain unvanquished under the most difficult of circumstances.” — Sunetra Gupta
“Interesting tales dealing with sensitive relationships; lucidly told.” — Leila Seth
“This is a good, attractive and explanatory website.” — Neeru's Dad
“She's the absolute best.” — Neeru's Mom