Sonali Kolhatkar

Sonali Kolhatkar is an award-winning multimedia journalist, and host and executive producer of the nationally syndicated television and radio show Rising Up With Sonali. She is the author of three nonfiction books including Rising Up: The Power of Narrative in Pursuing Racial Justice, and Talking About Abolition: A Police-Free World is Possible. She is a monthly columnist at the Independent Media Institute, OtherWords, and Truthout. Her debut novel, Queen of Aarohi is forthcoming from Red Hen Press in 2027. She lives in Pasadena, California, with her husband, two sons, her parents, and a spoiled cat.

The Prince and His Pert Little Palace

A flickering neon sign reading “A-R-T” on a dark Culver City street was the only indication that Arcturus Gallery was open. Steep concrete steps led to a basement-level space. He nearly slipped on a rain-slicked slab—it never rains in LA—before landing in a small puddle in front of a smudged glass door.

Cursing as damp seeped through thin socks, he pushed through the portal. Bells jangled announcing his entry into the art gallery, as though it was a convenience store.