Talia Lakshmi Kolluri

Talia Lakshmi Kolluri is the author of What We Fed to the Manticore, published by Tin House in 2022. It was a finalist for the 2023 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, among other honors. She has been published in Ecotone, The Common, One Story, and elsewhere. A lifelong Californian, Talia lives in the Central Valley with her husband and two cats.

Fiction – Issue 38

•Bitter Is the Fruit That Falls from Your Hand

The langur, her fur so soft and glowing it seemed to cast a halo around her, extended one arm toward a cluster of sal leaves, just within her reach.

Fiction – Issue 21

What We Fed to the Manticore

I raised my head when the stranger came close and saw a man’s face nestled in his mane, also red. The fur was lush, and I had an urge to groom it for him. He looked down on me and smiled, baring three rows of neat, sharp teeth.