Ebbani from Rey Valley International School was the first to arrive. “Thirteen more children are coming,” she informed me. I was anxious, anxious enough to have considered (night before last) cancelling the whole thing. I had never dealt with such young children before, and the children from Rey Valley who were coming to Rachna Books […]
Parents and Kids Choice Awards
Second runner-up for the Parents and Kids Choice Awards among Indian books for the age-group 10-15! I’m thrilled!
Five Problems with Good Books
1) I forget that I’m a writer. I pick up Harry Potter determined to see how J.K. Rowling weaves the magic she weaves. I decide that I will look at her techniques, the way she gets me involved in the story and how she slides in her humour. Five chapters – that’s all it takes to get me so engrossed […]
Parents Kids Choice Awards
I’m thrilled to be shortlisted for the Parents Kids Choice Awards! Those who have already voted, thank you, and please spread the word (before the 6th of May). Those who have not, please do vote! Here is how – 1) Click on this link – http://www.rivokids.com/pkca 2) Go to I want to vote for Age group: […]
Tolulope Popoola
“Your stories are too short.” “I want to know more!” “What happens after that?” “I would have liked some more description so that we get to know the people and place better.” It’s not uncommon for me to get responses like this to my writing, and so I snapped up the term ‘Flash Fiction’ as […]
Yellow Shoes
Today is World Storytelling Day. Here is a story to celebrate the day! If you like it, use it. Read it out to children. Make them imagine and colour – spread the joy of storytelling! Alka sat down on the floor to tie her shoelaces. Weekends were fun. She could meet everyone, play […]
What I used to write …
I transcribed the story of the dame who hated plants some time ago, but found this in a drawer while I was hunting for inspiration –
‘What happens next?’ at British Library
The afternoon’s workshop at the British Library began with a presentation that helped the eight children understand the mood of terror. Sights and sounds, ghosts, enormous spiders, zombies, mummies and pirates found their way into ideas children expressed before they began to write. And then, I gave them their prompt – The crows cried out […]
British Library Workshop
Oxford Bookstore 2002
We know we belong to the previous generation when we complain about the way children waste time. “How much we used to play!” A friend and I lamented about how students at school spend more time at their laptops than at anything else. They are a generation growing up with email and Facebook; they’re attached […]
THREE HUNDRED POSTS!
Yes, this is the three-hundredth post on my blog. It feels like just a few days ago that I signed my nine-page-contract for The Story-Catcher and asked two friends to witness it. It feels like just a few days ago that I read the proofs and sent them back to my editor. It feels like […]
The Story-Catcher in 2013
British Library Workshops
As part of the Reading Challenge organised by the British Library, I will be conducting four workshops! Age-group 5-7 Read Aloud and Colour your Thoughts! 12th January, 2014 Stories are always more fun when they have pictures. When they have more pictures, they are more interesting! So read a story, or listen to a story […]
Responses to Ethics
Delighted with the response! In addition to many, many mails, this is on the “Ethics” on worldcitystories.com. Waiting for reviews like this on The Story-Catcher!
On the long list again!
Yes, it’s a grand year! Toto Funds the Arts Creative Writing (English) long list for 2014 is here! Twenty-two applicants are on the long list for the Creative Writing (English) Toto Awards 2014. They are: 1. Shalini Jagadish, Bangalore. 2. Dion D’Souza, Mumbai. 3. Mihir Vatsa, Delhi. 4. Rohan Chhetri, Gurgaon. 5. Ronaan Roy, Mumbai. 6. […]
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is the kind of book that I could read over and over again. It was written in just a few months and it’s less than a hundred pages long. I was revolted and fascinated by it the first time I read it and I’m revolted and fascinated even now as I teach it. What […]
Tikki tikki tembo
You know one of the most beautiful things about a storytelling workshop? I listened to so many stories! Here’s one of them (not told by Nell, but by one of the workshop participants). Long, long ago, in a village in China, there lived a family with two sons. The elder son was called Tikki-tikki-tembo-no-sa-rembo-chari-bari-ruchi-pip-peri-pembo. The […]
Day Three – Reading is Fun!
I always tremble when I talk about my book. But somehow, today was just perfect. For once, I felt that the children simply loved the story and were still eager for more! Today was a grand day. I bit my lip controlling my laughter as a child read a little excerpt he had written about […]
Day Two – Reading is Fun!
Yesterday was the second exciting session with eager young children, waiting to be entertained. I began with a presentation on the process of the making of the book – from the mind of the writer to the hands of the reader. It was a long (yet brief) detailed explanation of different aspects of the process. […]
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Perhaps it was the right to time to reread this book and realise that Roald Dahl, genius beyond compare, never intended to be a writer. In the last-but-one story, he talks about how he happened to get a lucky break and things did not stop after that. He also writes about a little notebook in […]