A brown-skinned woman in a white headscarf holds an old-fashioned telephone receiver to her ear. Hand-lettered text reads “The Subtweet. A novel. Vivek Shraya.”

Indie musician Neela Devaki has built a career writing the songs she wants to hear but nobody else is singing. When one of Neela’s songs is covered by internet artist RUK-MINI and becomes a viral sensation, the two musicians meet and a transformative friendship begins. But before long, the systemic pressures that pit women against one another begin to bear down on Neela and RUK-MINI, stirring up self-doubt and jealousy. With a single tweet, their friendship implodes, a career is destroyed, and the two women find themselves at the centre of an internet firestorm.

Celebrated multidisciplinary artist Vivek Shraya’s second novel, The Subtweet is a no-holds-barred examination of the music industry and making art in the modern era, shining a light on the promise and peril of being seen.

  • Cover design by Jessica Albert
  • Cover artwork by Manjit Thapp