About this Event
Meet Alka Joshi, dive into the world of THE JAIPUR TRILOGY & Six Days in Bombay, and get your book signed up close and personal!
New York Times bestselling author Alka Joshi brings her beloved Jaipur Trilogy and sweeping new novel Six Days in Bombay to life in an intimate evening of conversation and celebration
Join us at Alameda Free Library on May 30th at 1:30 PM when Alka Joshi comes to present her internationally acclaimed Jaipur Trilogy — The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and The Perfumist of Paris — alongside her captivating new novel, Six Days in Bombay. Alka will be joined in conversation by award-winning journalist and author Deepa Fernandes, and will sign copies of her books after the presentation. This event is hosted by Friends of the Alameda Free Library, a non-profit organization that raises funds and advocates for the success of the Alameda Free Library.
Six Days in Bombay
Bombay, 1930s. When hospital nurse Sona befriends the worldly and beguiling painter Mira Novak during her brief stay at Wadia Hospital, she is swept into a life far larger than her own — full of European adventures, complicated loves, and art that crosses continents. But when Mira dies under mysterious circumstances, Sona finds herself under suspicion and in possession of four precious paintings and an enigmatic farewell note. How did Mira know she wouldn't survive?
What follows is a breathtaking journey across Prague, Paris, Florence, and London as Sona delivers Mira's paintings to the people who shaped her extraordinary life — and in doing so, begins to unravel both the truth behind Mira's death and the secrets of her own identity. Woven through with questions of belonging, race, and the lives we choose versus the ones we inherit, Six Days in Bombay is at once a propulsive mystery and a deeply moving portrait of a woman learning to see herself clearly for the first time.
A USA Today Bestseller, Book of the Month pick, and Spotify Audiobooks Best Fiction of the Year selection, Six Days in Bombay cements Alka Joshi as one of the most transporting storytellers writing today.
Background
Born in India and raised in the U.S. since the age of nine. Alka Joshi has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. Joshi's debut novel, The Henna Artist, immediately became a NYT bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and has been translated into 30 languages. The Secret Keeper of Jaipur (2021) and The Perfumist of Paris (2023) completed the Jaipur Trilogy. Her fourth novel, Six Days in Bombay, was published in hardcover in 2025 and will be released in paperback on April 28, 2026. She is currently working on her fifth novel. In 2024, Joshi was selected for the Forbes 50 over 50 List, celebrating women who are shattering age and gender norms across all sectors of the American economy and culture.
is a bilingual, Emmy Award-winning journalist and three-time LA Press Club Radio Journalist of the Year. A Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford with an MA from Columbia University, she has reported on women's rights, immigration, education, and indigenous communities across the globe.
THIS EVENT IS FREE but registration is requested. Registration ends at 5:00pm on May 29, 2026.
Because seating is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.
Due to space limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.
Walk-ins will be accommodated only if space allows.
We ask that attendees arrive between 1:00 PM and 1:15 PM for the event.
Accessibility & Parking
- ADA Accessible: Yes, side entrance of the library will be open
- Parking: Library parking lot / Street parking available / Civic Center Parking Structure nearby
- Animals: Please leave your non-support companion animals at home
- Accommodations: Contact us at [email protected] with accessibility questions
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak Street, Alameda, United States
USD 0.00
