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Growing up in Florida, Disney World loomed over the childhood imagination of Soman S. Chainani ’01. Good and evil were clear-cut — villains lost and heroes lived happily ever after. However, when Chainani entered Harvard as a first-year, everything changed.

“It was only once I got to Harvard and studied fairytales with Maria Tatar in that first freshman seminar where I really learned what the original tales were like,” Chainani said. “And I think that gap made me sort of rethink everything, because I really grew up kind of a Disney-fied child.”

Chainani went on to focus his English concentration path on fairy tales. He also became an editor for The Crimson’s Arts section, transforming it into a popular campus force. In his time at The Crimson, Chainani secured interviews with notable figures from Matt Damon to Kurt Vonnegut, and grew the section from four pages to 32 in one week at its peak.

Chainani is best known for writing the popular fairytale book series “The School for Good and Evil,” spanning eight books published between 2013 and 2023. The books have captivated young readers around the world, featuring a uniquely ambiguous take on good and evil.

“There’s something about the way humans are where half of us have creative impulses that are based in warmth and creativity,” Chainani said. “And half of us have the impulse to take things apart and break things down.”

To illustrate this, Chainani uses the metaphor of a sandcastle. One kid will spend hours on the beach building a sandcastle. Then, there’s the other kid who has been patiently waiting to body slam the castle and destroy it.

“The idea that we wipe out those destructive instincts by calling them evil, calling them bad, I think is a huge mistake,” Chainani said.

This plays into the worldbuilding of Evers and Nevers, the heroes and villains-in- training in “The School for Good and Evil.” Nevers are not inherently evil and Evers are not inherently good.

Chainani speaks with the urgency of a passionate teacher — and in many ways, he is one. Over the course of his 18 book tours, Chainani has visited over 800 schools. Yet, over the years he has noticed a troubling downward trend in adolescent reading.

“The kids are still having a blast at the presentations everywhere. I’m still having a really good time,” Chainani said. “It’s just a higher threshold to cross to get them to actually read the book. There’s a fear factor that wasn’t there before.”

This fear factor is what propelled Chainani’s newest project: a graphic novel titled “Coven.” Chainani describes it as his “homage to the B-horror movies and monster movies” he watched as a kid. This foray into the graphic novel also serves as an exciting experiment for Chainani, who hopes to eventually adapt “The School for Good and Evil” books into graphic novels.

By emphasizing visual content and embarking on book tours, Chainani is committed to getting kids to read.

“It just requires the author to go in there, look them in the eye, and be like, ‘You can do it,’” Chainani said.

One strength that keeps Chainani’s work resonating with younger readers is his ability to write with engaging pace. As he originally wanted to be a screenwriter, he learned how to prioritize action.

“When I went to write novels, everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, your books move so quick and there’s always so much happening,’” Chainani said. “And I think it’s because I started with screenplays.”

After graduating from Columbia’s MFA film program, Chainani spent his time writing scripts and, occasionally, directing. It was at this point the idea for “The School for Good and Evil” started to sprout.

“It just happened that ‘School for Good and Evil’ was too big to be a movie, and I was fed up with taking notes from stupid Hollywood executives,” Chainani said. “So the idea of finally getting to control something from start to finish made me actually put it down on paper.”

Notably, the book did finally get its film adaptation in 2022. Directed by Paul Feig and released by Netflix, it opened to mixed reviews. While no sequel has been confirmed, Chainani is open to revisiting the story through a TV series in the later future.

For the past three years, Chainani has been working on “Young World,” a political thriller novel aimed at audiences 14 and up. The novel features over 150 pages of full color art and explores the provocative question: “Is there a way a 17-year-old could end up President of the United States?”

“Young World” is certainly a departure from the fantasy Chainani is known for, but he hopes the story will resonate with a generation increasingly invested in activism and political change.

As for how his readers will respond? Chainani isn’t overly concerned.

“To me, the book is its own animal, and it’s almost like a child that has its own life,” Chainani said. “I’m just here to supervise it and make sure it doesn’t get run over by a car.”

—Staff writer Capri S. Wayne can be reached at capri.wayne@thecrimson.com.