Part of the joy of travelling is writing about everything I see. My diary has pages and pages of random things that strike me. I remember something I wrote about in 2004 when I went to France on an exchange programme. When we were checking in, we were told at the counter to preserve our ticket counterfoils because we would not see tickets like that again. We did not quite believe that random prints would replace the 'proper' tickets issued by airline companies. That was, perhaps, the beginning of all the 'impossible' things in my travelling life. From e-tickets and web check-in to printing baggage tags and checking our suitcases in ourselves to automated immigration processes ... I cannot even imagine what lies ahead. This time, what made me stare was something so random that I feel that writing about it simply will not do it justice. At Changi airport, close to our departure … [Read more...]
Special Events: AFCC 2018
Pop-up reading The pop-up reading at the Asian Festival of Children's Content is a fun event organised by Denise Tan of Closetful of Books. Authors who are willing to brave the chaos of the book fair read out a short excerpt of one of their books. Though I had not registered for this in advance, I jumped at the opportunity to read from Dragonflies, Jigsaws, and Seashells. It was a brand-new experience for me - reading from a book of mine that I was seeing for the first time! I read an excerpt from "A Drawing Lesson", the story of a colour-blind girl who triumphs in art class. Celebrating Our Stars An evening event, this was where all the shortlisted contestants were given certificates. I loved it! When I was shortlisted for SABA in 2016, the award ceremony was held on the day before the festival. This meant that right through the festival, I was one of those who … [Read more...]
Reflections: Days Two and Three at AFCC 2018
On day two, I attended a session called 'Rhyming Round Reading', which touched upon ideas that I use all the time at workshops on reading: rhyme. Focussing on a book titled Rhyming Round Singapore, the session had a lot to offer even to non-Singaporeans like me, primarily because of the concepts behind the book. How many of us have found nursery rhymes morbid? Think about Three Blind Mice and Humpty-Dumpty. Yet, like so many morbid fairy-tales, they have stood the test of time. Easy to sing, supported by elaborate gestures, these nursery rhymes have been taught for so many years that they're part of the bedrock of the education of so many children. Rhyming Round Singapore puts together familiar tunes and familiar ideas, rather than obscure images of Miss Muffet sitting on a tuffet, when most people don't even know what a tuffet is. It uses ideas that are familiar to Singaporean … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day One of AFCC 2018
AFCC 2018 was a bit of a whirlwind experience for me. For one, with work commitments that I could not break, I got to Singapore only on the day that the festival was to begin. So, sleep-deprived but fuelled by adrenalin, I arrived at the National Library Board after the keynote had begun. Exhaustion took its toll on me, though, so on days two and three, I was barely able to attend any sessions. Despite that, AFCC 2018 was wonderful, full of new ideas, energy and the urge to create more. I began AFCC 2018 with a session conducted by Australian author Pamela Rushby on making the perfect pitch. I hear so many stories about authors meeting editors and publishers at lit fests and then signing contracts for books. Learning how to pitch would definitely be useful. For me, there were two big takeaways. One, I discovered again how essential the word count of your novel is. It helps … [Read more...]
Back from AFCC 2018
Four years ago, I had not heard of the Asian Festival of Children's Content. I did not know that Singapore's National Library had 16 floors of books. And then, I was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award 2016, which was momentous enough for me to buy a festival pass and attend my first AFCC. I didn't win the award, but that was the beginning of a new journey - one that has led to my first Scholastic publication, Dragonflies, Jigsaws, and Seashells (originally Dragonflies, Jigsaws and a Rainbow). Then, in 2017, I answered a call for papers and was invited to speak at the AFCC. I spoke at a panel on writing about us, as Asians, something that I have started coming across much more frequently. At the AFCC 2017, I experienced the energy of the festival once more, as I went from session to session, making the most of an event that brought writers, illustrators, editors and … [Read more...]
Today I Am … A Writer!
The worst thing about being a writer is not writer's block. Not by a long stretch. The worst thing is all the waiting. Waiting for people to respond. Waiting for a book to be ready. Waiting for a book to hit the market. Every time I get an email - even a rejection - there is a little Varsha inside me that celebrates, simply because the waiting period is over. That's why this week has been particularly incredible. So incredible that I don't know what to write about first. So, not in any order of importance, here goes. I was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award once more. In 2016, a collection of my short stories was shortlisted, and it will be published by Scholastic Asia later this year. This time, a novel titled Red Eyes is on the list! Mango Books published my book, The Prophecy of Rasphora, and you can now buy it easily at the Mango Books e-store or … [Read more...]
Dear Future Reader …
Imagine that you are writing to a reader who has not yet been born. Perhaps you're writing to your own grandchild or great-grandchild. Or maybe you're writing to someone whom you don't know at all. What would you say? Here are a few of my favourites from this year's Writers' Club. There are many, many more! I do believe that a good book can change a life. Perhaps even yours Read if you like, but I'm sure both my GOGGLERS know the whole story by reading it many times. If you really want to find out what GOGGLER means, find other mysteries. How exciting it is to have a dog, but how hard it is to name it (him)! You would probably have shifted to Mars by now. I truly love to read Harry Potter and would totally recommend them to you (if at all they are found in Mars) Think before you read this book. You can roll down the chair with laughter! Also, many made lists of … [Read more...]
Memory Challenge!
I sometimes happen upon random blogs and I loved this one, so I decided to do it myself! The idea is to try to answer these questions without sneakily checking online or peeking over your shoulder at the bookshelf behind you. I'm taking the challenge I got from The Book Blogger memory challenge and then adding a few questions of my own. If you try the challenge too, let me know! Name a book written by an author called Michael Private Peaceful - Michael Morpurgo Name a book with a dragon on the cover The Dragon Whisperer - Lucinda Hare Name a book about a character called George George's Marvellous Medicine - Roald Dahl Name a book written by an author with the surname Smith The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency (okay, that's a series) - Alexander McCall Smith (Actually, is his surname hyphenated? Does this count?) Name a book set in Australia Golden Urchin - … [Read more...]
Writers’ Club 2018-19
The Writers' Club at St. Mary's School is now in its fourth year! We started so that we could commemorate the sesquicentennial year with a collection of work put together by the children, but then just carried on from there. Today, we discovered how we have stories within us, just waiting to be told. This is an activity I love to conduct with children and parents. I divide the children into pairs and each one narrates an anecdote to her partner. Never do I have more than ten seconds of silence - everyone has a story to tell. What comes after that is even more fun, where you pretend the story you just heard happened to someone else in the room ... We began our year with laughter; I hope to keep it going! In the first year, we had a collection of stories and poems published - Flickering Flames. In the second year, we were somehow too busy with a writing competition to … [Read more...]
Kittu’s Very Mad Day
Packed with more characters than I could count, reading Kittu's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Mad Day is a crazy experience. Kittu's family is the most chaotic one in the world - and the description of the entire family ordering a meal made me chuckle because it is absolutely en pointe. I remember being embarrassed, nearly mortified, when I was with a huge group of friends and we simply could not make up our minds about what to order! But that's the lightest part of this review. What I liked most about the book requires a little background. Over the last couple of years, I have actively been searching for literature that seeks to be inclusive and diverse. In the beginning, I was impressed by the books I was reading. As I went on, though, I felt that children with disabilities were being included not in the spirit of inclusivity, but as what I found myself calling the … [Read more...]
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