#badamericans

On this Independence Day Eve, I have to report that things are not looking good for the prospects of my latest book BAD AMERICANS being conventionally published. I haven’t gotten a single hit among the 50 agents or so I sent queries to several months ago. The ones who deigned to give a non-form response told me that the massive Great American Pandemic Novel was too long to be conventionally published.

Apparently, anything over 120,000 words is virtually impossible to publish right now, let alone a novel and short story collection in one, which is unheard of and doesn’t fit into a defined bookstore category. One agent even told me to constrict it into 80,000 words—it is currently 260,000 words. Even with dramatic editing, that’s practically impossible unless I write a different book.

I hoped that my momentum of winning 15 indie literary awards for my last novel The Dance Towards Death would cruise me into a major publication and Pulitzer Prizes/National Book Awards as a kind of natural progression of artistic ascent, especially for an ambitious Magnum Opus like BAD AMERICANS, but this was apparently just wishful thinking. That's not how the literary world works, at all.

I conveniently looked past the risk-averse, rigid and bureaucratic nature of the publishing industry which is the very reason I independently published 5 books over 8 years. I hoped DEI would help the prospects for the most DEI book ever written, but yet again, this promise was exposed as a front and a lie. It appears the major publishers don’t care about true diversity in fiction, and certainly not when there’s innovation and raw realism involved.

I’ve also sent BAD AMERICANS, meaning the whole manuscript, edited/half versions, and the individual stories out to indie publisher contests, but these have also resulted in rejection so far, and I’m not hopeful for a hit. These contests have also been very expensive—the fees for each contest range from $25-$80. I’m basically subsidizing their companies when that money would traditionally be used to promote my own works or those of other New Wei writers I admire. And it’s likely I could build a bigger profile and readership for BAD AMERICANS through The New Wei even if a small publisher does accept it.

Of course, sending BAD AMERICANS directly to the People has resulted in a much different outcome. Massive amounts of sensitivity (I hate this word—I prefer identity?) readers and beta readers have read and thoroughly commented on both the individual stories and the 1000 page book as a whole. How much did they charge? Nothing at all. In fact they were thrilled to participate in and aid this important project.

The 12 internal stories, most of which are novelettes or novellas, have been universally praised. I have gotten some criticisms on the frame story, particularly the long food and activity descriptions, and these will be edited. But even those critical readers finished the massive novel and admired it on the whole (meanwhile, the so-called publishing professionals have done absolutely nothing for this work).

In fact, one retired librarian read the 1,000 page tome two times, including giving me extensive line-by-line feedback the second time, and now wants to read it a third time. And she loved the individual stories so much that she adapted two, with my permission, and gave them to her book club to read and discuss. Now that’s dedication!

So essentially, I am at yet another crossroads. Do I keep trying to get the book conventionally published, which will likely take many years if it ever happens at all, or do I go it alone yet again and build The New Wei along with it? In particular, self-publishing BAD AMERICANS will be a huge endeavor due to its size, scope and components, likely one of the greatest self-publishing projects ever undertaken.

Well, you know I love a great challenge.

At this point, barring some miracle (and a few have happened to me), for the next six months I’m going to plan to do a final revision of the frame story and rebuild or confirm my team for the large publishing project. Perhaps I will send out 50 more queries to agents and here and there enter a contest—seems like a waste of time and money but I suppose you never know, I could get lucky.

Under the Grand Design, one story would be published as a Kindle ebook for each month of 2025 and then the whole book would be published in two volumes, in multiple formats, six months apart in 2026. That would be an all-consuming 2 year publishing project consisting of 18-20 distinct publications (possibly one with the whole work too, meaning potentially over 20) involving the same book.

Now that would be dedication!

We’ll see—I reserve the right to revise timelines, elements, and paths, but as you all know, once I get a plan for a project in my mind, almost nothing except divine intervention (and perhaps not even that) can stop me.

My goal all along has been to create a massive oeuvre like Balzac’s The Human Comedy, Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County books and Dostoyesky’s St. Petersburg works. Waiting around for publishers to take notice on a whim will likely never fulfill my ambitions, let alone my additional one of promoting other great indie literary writers I admire.

Bad Americans: Part I, aka The Great American Pandemic Novel, was released today on September 15, 2025. The first Part of a Two-Part Anthology Novel with 12 stories told by 12 characters surviving the Covid-19 Pandemic, this ambitious, innovative, entertaining and powerful literary hybrid has redefined how literature can be structured and disseminated.

You can stroll down for praise and the numerous articles already written on this book, my 5th overall, but first let's get to how you can access it.

If you're acquiring for a library, bookstore, university or cultural institution, you can get the hardcover and/or paperback from Ingram at the traditional 40-47% discount, and with returnable features:

If you would like to acquire it for yourself or friends/family, the hardcover and trade paperback editions are available on nearly every online bookstore you can think of: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound/Bookshop, Books-a-Million, Walmart, individual bookstore sites etc. Just search their sites and you should find it. If not, you can ask them to add it.

I already know of a few bookstores stocking the book, and many libraries across the NYC metropolitan area and beyond are acquiring it. If you can't find it at your local library or bookstore, you can ask them to acquire it.

At the moment, due to a Release Day Promotion, the eBook is currently only available on Amazon. You can either purchase the eBook, or if you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can read it for free. However, it is priced low at $2.99. This will eventually go up to the general list price of $6.99 so if you would like to purchase the eBook, I would recommend you do so ASAP.

It may eventually be available wherever eBooks are sold, including the Apple iStore, Kobo, Barnes & Noble etc. But for the first few months at least, it's limited to Amazon.

If you are a book professional who downloaded the ARC on NetGalley, please feel free to also write reviews on Netgalley, Goodreads, your own website and your favorite vendor site. Also, feel free to create YouTube, Tik Tok and other video reviews. Tell your fellow book professionals and all your friends. 

Interview, article and media requests can be forwarded to my primary publicist Joshua Dean at [email protected]

Likewise, if you are a media professional looking to acquire film, TV, serial, or other media rights, please send such requests to Joshua Dean at [email protected]

I have a number of events coming up throughout NYC, LI, Upstate NY, and even Minneapolis and Europe. The first will be at the Brooklyn Book Festival on Sunday September 21, 2025, where I will be tabling with 5 other authors from our The New Wei Author & Artist Collective (currently at 15 members). 

We will be at booths 133 and 134, close to the Brooklyn Heights Library. You can check out our page here:

The New Wei Catalog: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1shY8VDxsr8a9qgmcXkZjqVTEaymjqd2Q/view

Selected New Wei Websites: https://thenewwei.wordpress.com  http://tejas-desai.com/the-new-wei.html http://thenewwei.tumblr.com

Here is a list of other events (likely to increase: keep up on http://tejas-desai.com/articles-interviews.html ), listed in reverse order. Some are pending dates, but most are confirmed:

8/13/2026: Author Talk at Howard Beach Library (Pending)

5/2026 Drinks Reception for Tejas Desai, Author of Bad Americans, Wadham College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (Confirmed, Date Pending)

4/1/2026-4/3/2026 Serving Migrants at Ground Zero, PLA Conference in Minneapolis, MN (Confirmed, Date Pending)

11/22/2025: Author Talk at Briarwood Library (Confirmed)

11/19/2025: Publishing For Writers: Panel Discussion at Great Neck Public Library, 7pm-8:30pm (Confirmed)

11/7/2025: Bad Americans: Exploring the Pandemic Experience Through Diverse Storytelling at the NYLA Conference/Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, NY at 2:15pm-3:30pm (Confirmed)

10/30/2025: Author Talk at Ridgewood Library (Confirmed)

10/22/2025: Author Talk at Oceanside Library (Bad Americans: Exploring the Pandemic Experience Through Diverse Storytelling) (Confirmed)

10/4/2025: Southeast Queens Author Festival at Cambria Heights Library at 1pm-4pm (Confirmed)

Now for the praise. Bad Americans: Part I has been called "haunting" and a "powerful rendering of the human experience uniting a divided America" by Publishers Weekly's BookLife Reviews (https://booklife.com/project/bad-americans-part-i-101087) as well as "illuminating" by Kirkus Reviews (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tejas-desai/bad-americans-part-i/). 

Readers have showered it with praise calling it "timely yet timeless," "a landmark literary event," a "genre-defying tour de force," a "vital mirror to America's soul" "extraordinary" "fearless, thought-provoking and utterly absorbing" (Goodreads) as well as "emotionally honest," "brilliantly written," a "masterclass in short story writing" and "nothing short of incredible" (Amazon) among much other praise.

Now for the coverage. Here are selected articles already written about Bad Americans (with more on the way). Get the links at http://tejas-desai.com/articles-interviews.html :

"Local Express: Tejas Desai" in Queens Gazette

"Tejas Desai's Literary Innovation: A New Approach for Publishing Fiction" in Influencer Daily

"An American Epic for the Pandemic Age: Tejas Desai's Bad Americans" in New York Weekly"

What is a Bad American?" Tejas Desai's Pandemic Novel Challenges, Provokes and Moves in Miami Wire

As you may know, the internal stories were already disseminated as Kindle eBooks in an unprecedented campaign to release them as "singles" (or Kindle Short Reads) before the full release of the book. Readers have given all 6 stories universal acclaim. Here are the reviews and the links:

On the Frontlines (aka Andrea's Story):

universal link: https://books2read.com/u/m0LlzY

Immigrants Unite! (aka Cathy's Story):

universal link: https://books2read.com/u/mlgAKY

Corona Chaos (aka Taylor's Story):

universal link: https://books2read.com/u/mdMdKl

Black Boy's Ballad (aka Rashan's Story):

universal link: https://books2read.com/u/bzNZpZ

Mason Mayhem (aka Ricard's Story):

universal link: https://books2read.com/u/mgdjK7

Love Liability (aka Nalini's Story):

universal link: https://books2read.com/u/bPMy17

Two of the stories from Bad Americans: Part II, scheduled for full release on 4/15/26, are already available for pre-order too:

Barcelona Blasphemy (aka Lisa's Story) (will be released 10/15/2025):

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/bzGqOj

ISIS Crisis (aka Khassan's Story) (will be released 11/15/2025):

Universal link: https://books2read.com/u/4AedPp

The other four stories will be released each month, until the full book release of the powerful Bad Americans: Part II on April 15, 2026.

Finally (and I know this was a lot, but this is a very ambitious campaign for a very ambitious book that's not even halfway complete), you can check out my previous 4 books if you want, including the first book in The Human Tragedy series, Good Americans (2013), and my Amazon #1 bestselling, multiple award-winning international crime trilogy The Brotherhood Chronicle wherever books are sold.

I have many people to thank for helping with this book. You can find that on the Acknowledgments Page at the end of the book, or a post on my social media sites,(I have a lot):

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy Bad Americans: Part I and come on this journey with me!

All Best,

Tejas Desai

Advance Praise for Bad Americans: Part I:

"Desai's greatest strength lies in his ability to craft tales that are gripping in their own distinct ways—each story possesses a haunting quality that refuses to fade from memory long after it's been told. But what makes the collection particularly effective is Desai's timely and necessary exploration of American division, one that manages to find humanity even in our deepest disagreements.

"Takeaway: Powerful rendering of the human experience uniting a divided America." 

-- BookLife Reviews, Publisher's Weekly

"Tejas Desai, one of the nation's boldest and most innovative writers, tackles the nature of American identity in Bad Americans, a panoramic tale of exploration and survival during the COVID-19 pandemic. Channeling Boccaccio and Chaucer, Desai sets his novel on the Gatsbyesque estate of dating-app magnate Olive Mixer, who invites each of twelve diverse guests to share their stories on consecutive days. What ensues is a poignant and often hilarious commentary on social experimentation and the individual's search for meaning in a world that co-opts and commodifies identity. Bad Americans is a daring novel as compelling as it is intellectually challenging.

-- Jacob M. Appel, author of Einstein's Beach House

"Tejas Desai skillfully examines human nature and Americanism, complete with all of its flaws, frustrations, absurdities, and convolutions. Bad Americans: Part I is an important contribution to our postmodern roaring twenties." 

-- Raj Tawney, author of Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience

"The fictional characters' sentiments are carefully crafted, offering an intriguing range of realistic reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic. An illuminating...exploration of recent history and the people who lived through it."

-- Kirkus Reviews

"In an age when authors are increasingly turning inward and literature seems to have gotten smaller, Tejas Desai has accomplished the remarkable task of writing about a topic as large as Covid, with a canvas as broad as the United States itself. This is a compelling story that is driven by an extensive cast of characters, each vivid in their own way. Together they comprise the mosaic of New York City's outer borough of Queens, whether Chechen, Filipino, Jewish, Taiwanese, or African American; they work as nurses and bloggers and pizza deliverers, in finance, hair salons, and hospitals. Desai weaves them all together seamlessly as he tackles the aftereffects of a deadly virus that no two characters either experience or absorb in the same way, raising many more questions than answers as the narrative unfolds. The author also has a fine eye for details--the ventilators and N95 masks that populate this medical battlefield. In the end, Desai makes us care about all these characters, and he leaves us wanting to know more about their stories. It makes for a captivating read."

-- William J. McGee, author of HALF THE CHILD and ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS

"The distinction between a dated book and a timeless book emerges in whether or not its subject matter hits upon universal notes. This is a book about COVID and Trump and many other soon-to-be dated subjects. And yet Tejas has focused his real ire upon death, his real hope upon love, and his deepest reflections upon the meaning of life itself."

-- Lancelot Schaubert; author of Bell Hammers and Overmorrow, songwriter of H.A.L.T.S., filmmaker for Alaska

"Timely yet timeless...a genre-defying tour de force...perfect for book clubs...Tejas Desai captures the chaos and beauty of pandemic America....A must-read for fans of socio-political fiction and experimental narrative forms, Bad Americans cements Desai's reputation as a writer unafraid to interrogate the complexities of modern life. The September 2025 release of Part I promises to be a landmark literary event. A...vital mirror held up to America's soul." 

-- Sarah Jensen, Goodreads Review

"This vivid recollection of the bad times of COVID-19 not only dives into the hardships and harsh realities of those years, the death, hardships, and the emotional toll it took from all of us but lays open the toxic politics and divisiveness that time whipped up. And the author does this not as a typical novel, setting up a single narrative, but presenting a mix of forms told from many points of view, some opposing and others sympathetic. From spoken word to novella, and short story to episodic arch, the book mixes the poor with the wealthy, immigrant and citizen, a swath of races, nationalities, and political stances. By holding all these ideas tightly together, he lets loose the natural frisson of these juxtapositions. The variety of narrative forms stands out as a particular strength, rising above partisanship and letting the underlying humanity show through. Much like the Decameron did during the Black Death almost 700 years ago."

-- W. Lance Hunt, author of A Perfect Blindness

"Bad Americans has the guts, a presence flavored by unscripted programming, a superstructure of social significance for the pandemic era and beyond."

-- Alexandra Naughton, author of a place a feeling something he said to you

"With Bad Americans, Tejas Desai poignantly describes the effects of Covid on NYC through a compelling fictional storyline. Twelve individuals are chosen to spend twelve nights at a billionaire's house in the Hamptons during the height of the pandemic. They vary in political, social, sexual, vocational, and economic backgrounds. After days of leisure with group activities each night a different personalized story is told. All twelve of the character stories are so gripping that you'll want to know what comes next."

-- M.C. Allison, librarian & blogger

Book Information:• Full title: Bad Americans: Part I (The Human Tragedy, Volume 2)• Author name: Tejas Desai• Publisher/Imprint: The New Wei LLC• Pub date: September 15, 2025• Page count: 388 pages• Price: $30.00 (hardcover); $19.99 (paperback); $6.99 (eBook).• ISBN-hardcover ($30.00) 978-1-7347278-2-1 ; ISBN-paperback ($19.99) 978-1-7347278-3-8 ISBN-eBook ($6.99) 978-1-7347278-4-5

Author Biography: Tejas Desai is the author of the Amazon #1 bestsellinginternational crime trilogy The Brotherhood Chronicle (2018-2020), winner of 17literary honors, and The Human Tragedy, which includes the Kirkus Reviews-acclaimed Good Americans (2013), and the groundbreaking novel with short storiesBad Americans. The founder of The New Wei Literary Arts Collective & Movement, he has been profiled by numerous publications including HuffPost, Buzzfeed and The London Post. He attended Wesleyan University, University of Oxford and holds two Masters degrees, including an MFA in Creative Writing, from CUNY-Queens College. He was born, lives and writes in New York City, where he works as a supervising librarian for Queens Public Library.