shyamala's world

Hyderabad based children's author Nandini Nayar is out with her 50th book for kids. She has been writing for nearly 13 years. Picture courtesy:www.nandininayar.in Congratulations on your 50th book- Living with the Ghost. Thank you! I wasn’t sure which of my books would be the fiftieth and when copies of this book arrived, I was thrilled. It is a special book for various reasons.  This is my fifteenth title with Mango with whom I’ve done some amazing books. And then it turned out to be my fiftieth book for children as well! Living with the Ghost is low on the fear factor. Was it planned or did the editor ask you to tone it down? Saraswathy Rajagopalan, the editor at Man go , is a wonderful person to work with. She never interferes with the writer’s vision; she merely steers it in directions that help make the story better. This book was never meant to be a ghost story; the title is enough to t...

Writing Young Adult (YA) Books: Insights and Challenges (Guest Blog By Nalini Ramachandran) Jumpstart, ‘India’s only annual congress for children’s content creators’—which is organised by German Book Office—celebrated its 10th year in November 2018 through a two-day event at the Goethe Institut in Mumbai. ‘A Brave New World’, a panel discussion at the event, delved into the need for and contents of young adult (YA) books. The panel comprised Australian children’s books author Meredith Costain, Marathi children’s books author Madhuri Purandare, novelist and poet Sampurna Chattarji, and young author Zuni Chopra. Children’s books author Sowmya Rajendran, who moderated the session, touched upon five key aspects which throw light on the evolution of this genre. For authors who wish to dabble in writing for this readership, here’s an overview: YA books act as a bridge The emotional journey of young adults is distinct from that of children and adults, hen...