Tanaz Bhathena: Have Faith in Your Work
In this interview, author Tanaz Bhathena discusses how growing up on myths and legends led to her new historical fantasy, Witch Daughter.
Tanaz Bhathena is an award-winning Zoroastrian author of contemporary and fantasy fiction. Her books include Of Light and Shadow, Hunted by the Sky, which won the White Pine Award and the Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize, and The Beauty of the Moment, which won the Nautilus Gold Award for Young Adult Fiction. Her acclaimed debut, A Girl Like That, was named a Best Book of the Year by numerous outlets including The Globe and Mail, Seventeen, and The Times of India. Her short stories have appeared in various publications including The Hindu, Blackbird, Witness, and Room. Born in India and raised in Saudi Arabia and Canada, Tanaz lives in Mississauga, Ontario, with her family. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
In this interview, Tanaz discusses how growing up on myths and legends led to her new historical fantasy, Witch Daughter, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Tanaz Bhathena
Literary agent: Danielle Burby, Mad Woman Literary Agency
Book title: Witch Daughter
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Hachette
Release date: September 22, 2026
Genre/category: Historical Fantasy
Previous titles: A Girl Like That, The Beauty of the Moment, Hunted by the Sky, Rising like a Storm, Of Light and Shadow
Elevator pitch: Witch Daughter is a Persian mythology retelling of the story of Tahmineh—a witch princess who desperately tries to stop a tragic prophecy in which her husband and son kill each other on the battlefield.
What prompted you to write this book?
Growing up in a Zoroastrian household, I often heard stories of how my Iranian ancestors fled to India in the 8th century after the Arab invasion of Iran. I also grew up on a diet of myths and legends about those very ancestors from the Shahnameh, a 50,000-verse epic poem about ancient Persian kings and heroes. However, I often wondered—even as a child—why the epic rarely focused on the women in these tales: queens, princesses, and lady knights, who were not only daring but also fascinating to hear about.
As an adult, I reread the Shahnameh with a focus on the women and ended up writing Witch Daughter, a feminist retelling of the story of Tahmineh, a witch princess who uses every bit of her magic and cunning to try and upend a tragic prophecy in which her husband and son kill each other in battle.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I started researching ancient Persian history and mythology sometime in early 2023, knowing that I wanted to write a fantasy novel inspired by both. I wrote a book—a retelling inspired by the Shahnameh—by the end of 2023 and my agent took it out on submission in early 2024. Unfortunately, that book did not sell, but it seeded the idea of writing my next book—Witch Daughter. We went out again on submission in early 2025 and this time, we had a lot more success. Editors were interested in the book early on and eventually, there was an auction. I ended up going with Grand Central in May 2025.
Witch Daughter was unusual many ways: Not only did I write it very quickly (in around three months!) but my rounds of development edits with my editor were also very quick with no major changes to the plot or characters. It was in many ways a unicorn of an experience and I wish all my books were that easy to write!
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
We had some delays with the cover initially as all the artists we loved were booked up. I was concerned that the book itself might be delayed, but my publisher went into action very quickly and had mockups ready for me within a month’s time. We finalized an amazing designer, Phil Pascuzzo, who came up with the book’s gorgeous cover.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
I was surprised by how quickly I was able to draft it! As a writer who falls somewhere between plotting and pantsing, I usually take more than three months to write a book, because I need time to thinkand allow the story to marinate—for lack of a better word! But I think my earlier research helped a lot here—the story flowed out faster because I’d spent so many months in 2023 simply absorbing information about the setting, ancient Persian history, and mythology.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I hope readers will connect to Tahmineh’s story as a mother and a woman who is not only bold and has agency, but who also shatters stereotypes about women in the Middle East.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Rejection does not end even after you get a book deal. Have faith in your work and never take no for an answer.
