Writer
Fiction
- “Rajiv, Yourself, and I,” Lightspeed Magazine (TBD) [2704 words]
All Rajiv wants is to change his hair on an atomic level. He could do without the casual racism. - “The Tragedy of the Dead Is That They Cannot Cry,” Galaxy’s Edge (March 2017) [968 words]
How do you mourn a person you knew but didn’t know? Especially when you’re still dead and she’s now alive again? - “If You’re Hearing This, I’m Already Dead,” No Shit, There I Was (February 2017) [2419 words]
Listen. Tamika doesn’t have a lot of time left. But she’s the only one who knows how to stop the Graxians.
- “The Origin of Terror,” Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling (December 2016) [5098 words]
Tera Baker-Curtis, better known as the supervillain Terror, has been captured. In her final interview, she reveals how the child of two beloved superheroes became a monster.
- “The Vetalas’ Query,” Asian Monsters (December 2016) [3111 words]
When Seema’s dead father knocks on her door, he has one simple question. It’s the most important question Seema will ever have to answer…and maybe the last. - “The Gramadevi’s Lament,” Genius Loci: Tales of the Spirit of Place (June 2016) [2847 words]
Why are all the villagers of Tuldara long dead? The village spirit knows. Come closer. She’ll tell you her story.
- “Social Visiting,” Clockwork Phoenix 5 (April 2016) [8073 words]
Shaila hates being dragged along by her parents to visit aunties and uncles. But one day she discovers there may be more to this ritual—and this world—than she thought.
- “The Man Who Saved Manhattan,” Galaxy’s Edge (March 2016) [838 words]
New York City is plagued by space crabs, vampire gangs, and living monoliths. Meet the legendary Dagger Blitzen, who’s fought them all. Well. Not all. - “A Partial List of Lists I Have Lost Over Time,” Asimov’s Science Fiction (March 2016) / Flash Fiction Online (April 2018) [985 words]
A mad scientist must defeat their duplicate from another dimension. Also, there is lots of kale. Too much kale.
- “Girl in Blue Dress (1881),” Fantastic Stories of the Imagination (January 2016) / PodCastle (July 19, 2016) [Podcast] [762 words]
Museumgoers see only a nameless girl in a painting. But she has a name. And a story to tell.
- “The Attic of Memories,” Fantastic Stories of the Imagination (September 2015) / StarShipSofa (June 1, 2016) [Podcast] [960 words]
Jacinda’s attic craves memories. So she travels the universe collecting them.
- “The Merger”, The Book Smugglers (June 23, 2015) / StarShipSofa (November 4, 2015) [Podcast] [6390 words]
Paresh meets an alien blob who wants to use him as a host body. It’s prepared to offer substantial compensation equivalent to the value and potential val—wait, this sounds like a corporate merger.
- “Marcie’s Waffles Are the Best in Town,” Flash Fiction Online (June 2015) / Fantastic Stories of the Imagination (May 2016) [988 words]
After the apocalypse, Marcie’s diner is closed forever. There are things out there, monstrous things. But sometimes she lets someone inside.
- “The Robot Who Couldn’t Lie” [audio], Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show (May 2015) / Fantastic Stories of the Imagination (September 2016) [2555 words]
Silvi builds a robot and tells it stories. But can the robot tell a story of its own?
- “Sally the Psychic Alligator,” Fireside Magazine (April 2015) / Fantastic Stories of the Imagination (July 2016) [976 words]
Madhuri searches for Sally. Sally is an alligator. Who is psychic. - “Stranger,” Saturday Night Reader (March 11, 2015) [329 words]
Sejal discovers a strange creature in her bedroom at night. Her mother warned her about strangers.
Plays
Click on the to view a video of the play.
When a video includes more than one play, starting/ending times for the specific play are noted at the bottom of the video pop-up window.
- “Galene,” Bevy of Beauties: San Francisco Olympians Festival, 2015
A woman meets a bolder, cooler version of herself. The person she could be. But is that who she wants to be?
- “The Bow,” The Tools: San Francisco Olympians Festival, 2013
A love story between a woman and her talking bow. (TW: sexual assault) - “Origin Stories,” The Pub from Another World: San Francisco Theater Pub, 2013
Two superheroes walk into a bar. Who walks out? - “Man vs. Beer,” Pint Sized Plays III: San Francisco Theater Pub, 2012
A Teetotaler is peer pressured by a talking beer. - “Ode to the Sound Designer,” The Odes of March: San Francisco Theater Pub, 2012
Speaker, Bass, Treble, and Subwoofer explain the role of the sound designer in theatre. With examples. - “Ode to Concessions,” The Odes of March: San Francisco Theater Pub, 2012
A patron really likes theater concessions. Like really. Really really. - Gravity: And Then Theatre Company, 2011
An epic sci-fi drama about the doomed crew of the Apoptosis, in which the first act was scripted and the second act was improvised. - “Vishnu Claus,” Code Red: San Francisco Theater Pub, 2010
How can an Indian-American boy participate in the cultural conversation about Santa Claus?
Guest Posts
- “Can I Hug You? A Conversation About Writing, Representation and Kale”: Strange Horizons, 2016
- “MIND MELD: Sub-Genres We Love”: SF Signal, 2016
- “SFF in Conversation: Talking Novels with Haralambi Markov, Sunil Patel and S.L. Huang”: The Book Smugglers, 2016
- “Every Galaxy Needs More Than Three People of Color” [podcast]: Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy, 2016
- “MIND MELD: This Is What We Want to Read in 2016”: SF Signal, 2016
- “Smugglivus 2015 Guest Author: Sunil Patel – I Read a Bunch of Romance Novels and You Should Too”: The Book Smugglers, 2015
- “Anatomy of a Sale, Pt.1”/“Anatomy of a Sale, Pt. 2”: A Dribble of Ink, 2015
- “The Merger: Sunil Patel on Inspirations and Influences”: The Book Smugglers, 2015
- “What Sunil Patel Learned About Writing from John Wick and Mad Max: Fury Road”: Unlikely Influences, 2015
- “Black Mirror Is Almost As Smart As a Good Sci-Fi Book” [podcast]: Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy, 2015
- “MIND MELD: Short Fiction Favorites”: SF Signal, 2015
- “Smugglivus 2014 Guest Author and Reviewer: Sunil Patel”: The Book Smugglers, 2014
- “Theatre Around The Bay: The Rise of Geek Theater”: San Francisco Theater Pub, 2014
- “Theatre Around The Bay: Our Story Was Epic”: San Francisco Theater Pub, 2014