the boy from paradise - soman chainani at storycon

Once upon a time, there was a boy who grew up in Key Biscayne, Florida. Key Biscayne looks and feels like paradise. But this is not a fantasy. This is a true story.

The boy’s name was Soman. He was the only child with dark skin in his entire school. He was Indian-American. Soman’s family had no internet, no cable, not even network TV. And so, as young Soman went off every day to elementary school, already feeling the stinging shame of difference from his peers because of his brown skin, he felt an even greater separation because of a lack of shared stories. The other kids buzzed and laughed about their favorite movies and TV shows. Soman knew nothing about any of them. The gap between Soman and his peers felt like a chasm. He could not have felt more alone.

And then one day, Soman’s grandparents arrived in Key Biscayne with a gift. It was the entire collection of Disney animated movies, on VHS tapes.

Here at Soman's fingertips were The Lion King and The Little Mermaid and Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast and on and on, not just stories that connected Soman with his classmates, but stories that connected Soman with the wider world, with other children he began to imagine he might just meet someday. Between the ages of six and fifteen, these Disney animated films were the only filmed stories that Soman ever watched and listened to. He watched them over and over again, not just falling in love with them, but memorizing every word, every image, every moment, every lyric and lilt, every expression of love and loyalty and betrayal. The stories and moments fused themselves into Soman’s soul and spirit just as concretely as the food he ate in middle school formed his muscles and bones and teeth.

Throughout these years, as he aged into a teenager, Soman became a story person. In fact, he became a story vessel, so filled to the brim with stories that his vessel literally overflowed, creating puddles and pools of new stories beneath his feet, and clouds of new stories above his head. These puddles and pools and geysers and volcanoes became the stories that Soman began to build and tell relentlessly, and write furiously, and share with his friends courageously: first with his community, and then with strangers around the world. Today, Soman Chainani is one of the most beloved and popular writers on earth. He is the author of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, a NY Times bestselling series that has sold over 4.5 million copies, and was adapted into a Netflix series.

A little less than two months ago, on December 20th, 2025, Soman opened an email. In it, he heard about Written Out Loud for the first time. The note humbly requested Soman to speak to our community of remarkable young storytellers at StoryCon, Written Out Loud's annual celebration.

Soman immediately said yes.

I am honored to inform you that on February 21st - a mere 13 days from today, inside the halls of the O.C. Marsh Lecture Hall, on the Campus of Yale University, Soman Chainani will appear live, on an extremely large screen, and speak exclusively with you: the community of Written Out Loud’s storytellers and families.

There is much more to Soman's miraculous story. I'll be sharing more over the coming days. But I am writing to you today to see if you, or a Soman Chainani fan in your world, might be interested in asking Soman a question, live at StoryCon.

We will have only a short period of time to speak with Soman. But we will fill as much of our time as possible connecting our storytellers with this inspiring titan of storytelling, in a 30 minute Q & A session.

Whether you are attending in person or via zoom, or if you simply wish to share in this experience, please fill out the attached questionnaire.

2026 has begun with an auspicious rumble of promise, Story-Kind. I am grateful to be here in your midst, as the power of storytelling, wrought by the storytellers of Written Out Loud, shapes the world anew.

-Joshua