shyamala's world

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...

Author Aditi Kay aka Anu Kumar has been known for her children's books on Indian history. How the Harappans say Hello and other Mysteries of History , Across the Seven Seas: Traveller Tales From India , and Girls From India: A Chola Adventure are some of her books. She shares info about her new book from Hachette. How did this project come about?                                            I’ve worked with Vatsala, editorial director at Hachette children’s publishing, on quite a few books, and so when she had the idea for this one, I happily agreed, and worked out a list. A hundred names that she vetted and then I went on to do the research, write it all out. How long did you take to write the book? I had to work on a few other things so I daresay it took a bit longer than I envisaged. I’d say around 2-3 months. What was the biggest challenge in writing this...

                                           Yet another nonfiction book for teens by Bangalore based children's author Roopa Pai! The framework of Ready 99 is based on Scouting for Boys written by Lord Baden –Powell , founder of the Boy Scout movement. While Lord Baden- Powell’s book is a collection of 28 Campfire yarns meant to serve the children of 20th century,  Roopa’s creation  is a tailor made,modern  version   with  99 skills and challenges for the distraction prone, time crunched, self absorbed digital children of today. Divided into six categories, the completion of every category is rewarded with a merit badge . The book shows no gender bias. Activities like cooking and flower decoration are included with activities needing wrench, pliers’ and hammer.  Ready 99  has arrived at the right time. From the importance of equ...

                                                                                                                                        What is the scariest word in the English language? If the level of its scariness is decided by a word's power to make otherwise reasonable, clear-headed and intelligent adults blanch, in b...