It's no secret that vegan living has surged in popularity over the last decade. There are alternatives to everything from sausages to leather. 

No matter where you go, you will find vegan restaurants and communities. It makes sense that veganism would feature in books, movies, video games and other media, right? So where are the vegan characters?

You'd be surprised to learn that veganism is close to nonexistent in storytelling—even on indie story platforms with diverse novels that don't normally make it to traditional publishing.

However, a young adult novel was shortlisted for the Watty Awards 2022—an annual contest with over 10,000 entries from around the world. Say hello to Komoreby. It's a quirky Asian high school story with a sci-fi twist and a vegan heroine.

The author is Su Vida, a Sri Lankan artist, animator and indie writer. All of her stories feature vegan protagonists and themes—even an entire vegan city. She’s an official Creator on Wattpad, where her work is free to read, both on the web and mobile (with audio). 


Let's take a closer look at Komoreby.




Link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/224538333-komoreby


Komoreby is the metropolis of the future—an eco-city brimming with stylish urban life, where dreams are forged into reality. It's everything Evanna Zeller's quiet, old town was not.

Nerdy in mind and whimsical at heart, Evanna is a lonely girl with dreams far bigger than herself. She's darkly inclined with sunshiny kawaii, and she's herbivorous with a taste for video game blood. 

Evanna's adventure of a lifetime is her move to Komoreby, where she reunites with her childhood bestie at the city's most prestigious high school. Everything is set for a brilliant new start—or so she thought.

Pranks and betrayals sink the very first day to rock bottom. As if that isn't bad enough, a school tour of the city's high-energy physics lab, home to a gargantuan particle collider, takes a bizarre turn.

Now she's trapped in a parallel universe of draconian rules and warped versions of everyone she knew. As she spins down a rabbit hole of mind-boggling quantum physics, can she find her way home through the murk of the unknown? All the while weaving through a social web of potential friends, foes and a mysterious rocker guy she's relentlessly drawn to.


Novels have evolved into a whole other beast after the advent of online storytelling platforms and reading apps. Readers have the option of directly interacting with authors, leaving comments on individual lines in the book. Komoreby has garnered almost 20,000 reads as of January 2023, as well as thousands of comments from readers—almost all of them non-vegans.


Black Avatare

Su is now posting monthly updates of her third novel, Black Avatare, which is based on the Kandyan kingdom and Sri Lankan ghost lore. It’s none other than a re-imagining of the Black Prince (Kalu Kumaraya). It’s not just any ghost story, however. This dark sci-fi fantasy tale comes with a kickass vegan heroine and a gothpunk version of Kandy.




Link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/324189809-black-avatare 


If you’re looking for unique books, where vegan characters rule and plant-based food features in abundance, give Su Vida’s stories a chance. 


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