Tag: Nancy Paulsen Books

Smooth sailing over the holidays and Safe Harbor in 2025!

Padma VenkatramanLeave a comment

It’s almost time to launch SAFE HARBOR – my sixth novel and my second novel-in-verse! I can’t believe how fast 2024 has flown! If you haven’t ordered your copy yet, here is the link: https://buff.ly/3XLA0eK

And… here below is the photo of the seal who inspired the novel, “lying like a sack of rice” on the sands of the beach near my home, in my Ocean State.

This seal was fine – but of course, as an author, seeing it made me wonder – what if there were another seal, and that one wasn’t fine – and I saw two brown kids saving a seal – and I had to find out who they were – and they led me to SAFE HARBOR. Here’s artist Oriol Vidal’s exquisite visual conception of Geetha and Miguel, and Santo the seal.

Yesterday I had the honor to chat with book champion Jennifer LaGarde and she noticed that Geetha is holding a flute. A simple Indian bamboo flute, like the one below. I love this instrument so much because it creates music so organically, with so little mechanics, and with just the principles of physics at play – and yet the music it can create can be so rich, so emotional, so vital. As I write these lines, I am reminded of the recent demise of the person I consider to have been the world’s greatest percussionist – Ustad Zakhir Hussain. I had the honor of hearing Zakhir-ji live more than once – and it was one of the most amazing, blessed experiences of my life.

Geetha’s flute brings a touch of realistic magic to SAFE HARBOR – reminding us that it’s not merely science that can save our planet. I’m an oceanographer, of course, so I’m not dissing science at all. It’s vital. But equally as vital are our ancient, traditional, healing and wholesome paradigms of the connectedness of creation. Music, to me, and to my protagonist, Geetha, is a universal language that connects all creatures on Earth – and through music, Geetha remains rooted in her heritage and reaches out to the seal. If you’re wondering – I play the veena, not the flute – and unlike Geetha I am NOT a gifted musician!

SAFE HARBOR, as I have discussed on other blogs, also has the first wonderful mother who lives with depression and anxiety that I’ve met in the pages of books – although I’ve met many in real life. She is independent, she’s there for her child, she breaks the stereotype of the adult failure with mental health issues (a stereotype that still unfortunately prevails in kidlit) – and I love her. I also love Miguel’s mom and Dr. Williams – powerful BIPOC women scientists who are part of the cast of SAFE HARBOR. I love the fact that in these pages, BIPOC female scientists are the norm (which they certainly weren’t when I began my journey toward my doctorate in oceanography).

So here’s to you, dear reader. Thank you for supporting my work. I hope you’ll love SAFE HARBOR and dive deep more than once to enjoy experiencing the many layers of complexity that lie beneath the surface of this story. I hope that it will leave you feeling empowered, just as Geetha does when she begins with trying to save one animal, which leads to other small steps to save our green earth and its blue seas, which in turn lead to dreams and larger actions to combat climate change and help preserve our planet and conserve all living creatures. Because no matter how large adversity may appear to loom, a heart filled with hope will never sink. Hope, as Geetha says, “is a cork that never stops bobbing on the waves of life’s ocean.”

I’m thrilled to share that I have created a brand-new fun and interactive presentation for grades 3-8 with environmental tie-ins. Do reach out to me through my Speaking Agency, The Author Village. My wonderful publisher has also helped arrange events in January to celebrate the launch – which I’ll share on my blog soon. In the meantime, you can also find a starter list of background resources to which I will be adding, if you choose to use SAFE HARBOR as a read aloud!

May you enjoy the end of this year – and sail smoothly into the next. May 2025 be filled with many a SAFE HARBOR for you.

Order Safe Harbor (176p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. Jan. 2025. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780593112502): https://buff.ly/3XLA0eK

Author’s Speaking Agency: https://theauthorvillage.com/presenters/padma-venkatraman/

August Anthologies

Padma Venkatraman2 Comments

If you’re reading this, hope you’re having a wonderful summer. I am having a hectic one! In this short post this August, I wanted to share a list of august upcoming anthologies that I’m honored to be part of. But first, I am super excited to share that my next novel, SAFE HARBOR, is already available for pre-order! I was so moved to receive this wonderful blurb :

“Safe Harbor is an exquisite verse novel by one of my favorite poets. I fell in love with each heartfelt page. The perfect blend of personal and STEM themes is truly amazing.” – Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor winning author of The Surrender Tree, and Young People’s Poet Laureate Emeritus

Unlike my previous novels, SAFE HARBOR is set in Rhode island, and it’s the first of my books that draws on my time as an oceanographer. Within the vast field of marine science, I focused on pollution prevention, and this book is about a girl who rescues a baby seal that is stranded on a beach and that has almost lost its life because it is entangled in plastic. There weren’t a lot of BIPOC women in this field when I received my doctorate; so there are a lot of BIPOC female scientists in this book, and I hope it will be loved by readers, as much as I absolutely loved weaving together my love for science and my love for literature as I wrote this story. You can pre-order a copy and learn more about the book here.

With Banned Book Week coming up next month, I’d like to start my august anthologies list with BANNED TOGETHER, a YA anthology coming in 2025 from Holiday House, edited by Ashley Hope Pérez, activist, teacher, and author of OUT OF DARKNESS. It’s a collection of diverse types of writing ( fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic narratives, essays, and other genres) that explore the unprecedented censorship that book creators are facing right now, which addresses what we lose as a society when young readers are prevented from accessing books in which they can see themselves represented respectfully. And there’s more – it also has a marvelous list of resources that Ashley has put together (e.g. tips from the Vandegrift Banned Book Club and other teen activists, as well as extensive recommended book lists, a How to Start Your Own Little Free Library flier, etc.) to empower those who wish to actively fight extremist book challenges. In the words of the one and only Laurie Halse Anderson, Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Winner, and author of the Speak, which was one of the first YA books I read and a book that has been subjected to book banning, “This stunning book is the antidote we need against the hate-based book banners bent on destroying our freedoms. Read it, share it, and lift your voice to support everyone’s right to read.”

JUST YA is the brainchild of Prof. Sarah J Donovan. As part of my my charitable contributions for 2024, I sent her a short story, which can be accessed free of charge, along with other writers’ work, via her online resource at Open OkState which will be live September 2nd. This open-access collection encourages readers, teachers, parents, teachers and other educators to engage with literature written by diverse voices.

Poetry was my first love – and I still love writing poetry. So it’s always a joy to be invited to participate in any #poetryanthology put together by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell. I was thrilled to write a poem called JOB JUGGLER, inspired by my “jobs” as an oceanographer and as a writer, for inclusion in  CLARA’S KOOKY COMPENDIUM OF THIMBLETHOUGHTS AND WONDERFUZZ, which will be released this fall. Proceeds from the sale of this book go to charity, which shows you that Janet and Sylvia aren’t just amazing poets – they are also amazing people.

Last but not least on my list is ALL THE LOVE UNDER THE VAST SKY, a YA anthology celebrating love in all its forms, edited by Kip Wilson, author of WHITE ROSE and THE MOST DAZZLING GIRL IN BERLIN. This “enchanting, genre-crossing anthology delivers something for every reader with unique characters, global settings, and a dazzling mixture of myth, historical, speculative, and contemporary fiction” and is scheduled for release in January 2025.

All Best For the Rest of 2021 and Happy 2022!

Padma VenkatramanLeave a comment
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, CSMCL and India Currents Best Books of 2021 lists; on Mr. John Schu and Travis Jonker’s Top 20 Books of 2021 list; and in addition to the starred reviews to which it was released and the glowing reviews from the New York Times Book Review and Providence Journal, it was showcased as Parents Magazine’s November Book Club pick.

Born Behind Bars is also a Project LIT Community Selection! So honored!

If you’d like to order a copy, click the link below, and choose your favorite way to buy from the various possible options (and thank you)! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647196/born-behind-bars-by-padma-venkatraman/

Here’s the Born Behind Bars Trailer in case you didn’t watch it yet…

If you’d like to hear the story-behind-the-story or download a discussion guide, Born Behind Bars related writing prompt or hear the first chapter of the audiobook, which I read, or access further reading suggestions or support resources, you’ll find them at the Born Behind Bars page of this website (resources tab top right, Born Behind Bars drop down menu).

Thank you to all the educators who worked so hard as this pandemic continued.

Sending my wishes out to the world for health, above all, and a safe and peaceful end to this year and joy in 2022.