During these difficult times for the world, it's hard to share personal happiness. Yet when we acknowledge the small moments of light in our lives, maybe we are, in some small way, fighting larger injustices - by not giving in to them and not giving them the power to rob us of happiness. It's in [...]
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Wish you a golden autumn!
After a hectic summer, I've decided to have a calmer fall. I plan to spend more time writing than traveling, but I will be doing a bit of teaching, too. I'm so honored and excitedly looking forward to teaching an online course in writing at Sarah Lawrence College. For the first half of the semester, [...]
Thank you, teachers, for your courage & dedication
"Fear is a Lock. Courage is a key." That's a quote from BORN BEHIND BARS. It's a quote that I believe teachers, librarians and other educators live by. Especially these days, when our nation and our world seems so divided. This second day of #TeacherAppreciationWeek, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the [...]
National Poetry Month 23 #ClimatePoemProject & DiverseVerse Love Letters To Poetry
Happy Poetry Month! I'm thrilled that this year, my first love - poetry - will provide a nexus between two very different groups that I started: Authors Take Action and Diverse Verse. Read on to find out what the connection is - and, better still, to discover poetry prompts for you to try on your [...]
Free Short Story For You
Hope you're all having a good February. It's a short month, so I'm keeping this message short, too! The paperback birth of BORN BEHIND BARS is scheduled for March 7th, and you can pre-order it already! Use the link below to order via your preferred vendor: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647196/born-behind-bars-by-padma-venkatraman/ To celebrate the paperback release, I've released a [...]
Happy writing: Prompts, resources and more…
Here's wishing everyone a wonderful new year! Hope it's started well and that it brings you much joy. If you're a writer or teacher, here's a recent list of resources you might find useful: Hugs from Awesome Authors Aida Salazar and Joanna Ho Joyous Moments In 2023 Diverse Verse contains a list of novels-in-verse, old [...]
Teacher Resources
This spring began with so many delightful bits of news: The Bridge Home received another award - The Jerry, presented by WJRC! Born Behind Bars is also on Georgia's state award list! I've been doing a lot of virtual visits, and over the next few weeks, I'll be doing more. On my slides, I quote [...]
All Best For the Rest of 2021 and Happy 2022!
https://videopress.com/v/flYWbh3r?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata Happy Holidays and Happy New Year Wishes! Can't believe 2021 is nearly over. As this year winds down, I'm taking a moment to be grateful for all the honors and awards and praise Born Behind Bars has been blessed with. So far, to my knowledge, it's on the Boston Globe, Kirkus, School Library Journal, [...]
An undreamed of birthday present: Parents Magazine’s love for BORN BEHIND BARS
November is my birthday month - and this year, it came with a wonderful surprise gift. Parents Magazine chose BORN BEHIND BARS as their book-of-the-month! Previous "Raising the Future" book club titles include She Persisted: Ruby Bridges by Kekla Magoon and Chelsea Clinton; Daddy and Dada by Ryan Brockington and Isaac Webster; I Wish You [...]
Compassion is my Compass
So grateful for the warm welcome, starred reviews and praise BORN BEHIND BARS has been receiving! Immense gratitude to the New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus. Here's a wonderful article about and review of BORN BEHIND BARS in India Currents. Thrilled to hear the wonderful reviews of the book shared by [...]