Mindy Kaling Says Reading Stephen King Books Growing Up Was ‘a Way to Be Rebellious’ (Exclusive)

The ‘Never Have I Ever’ creator is celebrating the approaching one-year anniversary of her book imprint, Mindy's Book Studio

Mindy Kaling is celebrating an approaching literary milestone, but not without dishing on some of her own favorite childhood books.

In 2022, the Never Have I Ever creator launched Mindy’s Book Studio, a book imprint that's part of Amazon Publishing. The studio’s goal is to “[celebrate] emerging and diverse voices" and is particularly focused on female protagonists. Featured titles include the novels The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev, I’ll Stop The World by Lauren Thoman and The Better Half by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans.

“I feel incredibly grateful for it because I, as a multi-hyphenate, can never predict when certain parts of my workflow will be interrupted, which has been the case in the past five months,” Kaling tells PEOPLE. “It just feels good, especially since so many of [the writers] are women of color.”

“Mindy is remarkable in that she just keeps coming up with ways to refresh our culture with unique voices and stories that ring so true across TV, film and books,” Julia Sommerfeld, publisher of Amazon Publishing, says in a statement.

Kaling, whose writing credits extend from her days at The Office to spearheading her sitcom The Mindy Project to recent shows like The Sex Lives of College Girls, has always been an avid reader. As a child, her parents were strict about watching TV, so she turned to books for entertainment instead.

Related: Mindy Kaling Opens Up About How Her Parents Were Cast as Kelly Kapoor's on The Office

“Reading a Michael [Crichton] book or Stephen King when I was much too young to read them was so titillating to me," she says. "It's kind of what I think kids now feel like when they watch a rated R movie and they're only 11. So for me, it was a way to be rebellious because the great thing about my parents is they really did not care what I was reading, as long as I was reading."

As the child of immigrants, she also loved novels like Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake and Zadie Smith’s White Teeth, the latter of which Kaling says has "a real sense of humor."

Regarding the kinds of books that Mindy's Book Studio is looking for, Kaling, a fan of multiple genres, has a few suggestions for successful stories.

“What I really love is stories about female underdogs,” she says. “And I love juiciness. I love books that are page turners. [I also love] a writer who is a gifted writer, but who has a sense of humor about themselves and doesn't take themselves seriously.”

One of those writers is Canadian author Amy Lea, a romance novelist whose latest book, Woke Up Like This, was published by Mindy’s Book Studio on Oct. 1. The story follows high school senior Charlotte Wu, who wakes up one morning to find that she’s been catapulted decades into the future, and is engaged to her high school nemesis. The book was inspired by 13 Going on 30 and other early 2000s rom-coms.

“She's just such a powerhouse talent and has done such incredible work to pave the way for more diverse creators in the entertainment industry,” Lea tells PEOPLE of Kaling. "I couldn't be more honored to be part of such an amazing team.”

Related: 'Never Have I Ever' Star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Shares What She Learned from 'Mentor for Life' Mindy Kaling

Kaling, who wrote an introductory note for the novel, says that the book is one that she “would’ve tried to get when I was 12.”

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“It's been wonderful to find solace in these incredible books,” Kaling says. “I’m just over the moon for these authors to be getting their rightfully deserved attention.”

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