It would go on to sell eight million copies in 40 languages. In 1997, Roy won the Booker Prize for The God of Small Things, the first time the honour went to an Indian woman, and the first to an Indian writer living in the country. Pews filled with mostly women, mostly young, many South Asians as well as academics, feminists, artists and activists. Nearly 1,000 people filled the Bloor Street United Church to greet Roy at the June 22 event. Gogia was convinced that I could bring a unique perspective to the conversation for several reasons: rooted in social justice, my work as a documentary filmmaker has challenged the Canadian national narrative on race, immigration and Indigenous issues. Roy would, in turn, acknowledge and thank Gogia for her persistence - over many years - in making her rare Toronto appearance possible. Anjula Gogia, the activist bookseller from Another Story Bookshop in Toronto, had patiently nudged me over a few weeks to introduce and host Arundhati Roy on stage when she read from her new book, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.
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