shyamala's world

When you think of  Indian children's historical fiction, Subhadra  Sen Gupta is the first name which springs to one's mind. She has written both fiction and nonfiction historical books for all ages. I am delighted to feature the elusive Subhadra Sen Gupta on my 99th blogpost. Pic courtesy: Funky Rainbow/Shyam Madhavan Sarada 1.How many books have you written so far? ~~ Haven't counted in a while. Over thirty books for children plus books for adults. 2. Did you study history in college? What drew you into writing for children?                                     ~~ Yes. I have a MA from Delhi University. I began writing in college and then there was a wonderful children's magazine called Target and two youth magazines that encouraged young writers. Bengali literature has a tradition of writers writing in all kinds of genres. Famous novelists also have c...

This October Pickle Yolk Books will be open to receiving submissions from authors. After publishing award winning picture books Pickle Yolk books.is now venturing into nonfiction. Biographies to be more precise! Editor of Pickle Yolk Books, Richa Jha, shares details on the kind of stuff she is expecting to see in her mailbox. . 1. What's the word count you are looking for? Ideal word count: under 600. But otherwise, I will not be in a position to accept any submission with a word count exceeding 1000 words. 2. Would the biographies be based on Indian or International personalities? Living or dead? Ideally, Indian/ living/ not already done to death (E.g.: Sachin Tendulkar or Dhoni).  But an inspiring name from the recent past is fine too (from early 1900s onwards). 3. What should authors keep in mind before mailing the submissions? a) I'd love to see stories that highlight certain inspiring aspects of a person's personality, or inspiring episodes ...

Author and editor  of Pickle Yolk books ,Richa Jha, is on a roll.After winning accolades for her fiction picture books, she is venturing into a new genre.  Scroll down to read all about it. 1.        It's been a long and fruitful journey with Pickle Yolk Books. So many good books and so many accolades. Thank you! I think it’s to do with my inherent persnicketiness when it comes to anything to do with picture books. I am my own fiercest critic, whether it’s for the author in me or the editor in me or the publisher. I don’t usually rush with a book. On the contrary, I make the entire creation process annoyingly and painfully slow. So perhaps, it’s this luxury of time that I gift my books that helps them come out fully baked. It’s not as if I don’t make mistakes with my books; I do by the truckloads, but I do strive to create satisfying, wholesome reads, both textually and visually.    2. MaccherJhol has been a joyo...

                                        Children's author and champion of big and small animals, Ranjit Lal,  shares his thoughts on his latest nonfiction book from Duckbill - 10 Indian Animals You May Never Again See In The Wild. 1. You have been writing about animals for the past few decades. What visible change in perceptions do you see in children then and now? I hope children are more sensitive and aware that animals too exist in the world and are vital to its functioning. Usually, it's the parents (my generation and even later) that are the problem: 'kaatega'! it will bite, don't touch or pet it..., if you don't eat your food it will eat you!' 2. Which of the ten animals mentioned in the book can be brought back from the brink of extinction? Hopefully all, though the prognosis for the bustard, Ganges river dolphin look very bleak indeed. The bigger, more 'cha...

Delhi based children's author Deepa Agarwal has come out with a new book dealing with illiteracy  and girl empowerment. Released by Hachette, Blessed, is a gripping middle grade book filled with intriguing twists and turns. Find out more about Deepa's latest book and her writing in this interview.                                                      Hachette is extremely choosy when it comes to publishing fiction titles.  What do you think tilted the scale in Blessed ’s favour? Well, frankly speaking, you should ask my editor Vatsala Kaul Banerjee! I  think it was the theme of education for girls that appealed to her. You  know, in children’s book publishing, the general belief is that original  fiction by Indian authors does not sell well. For this reason, I was  overjoyed and extremely grateful when Hachette accepte...