Kashmira Sheth's Weblog

ALA Chicago - July 12, 2009

• Award Ceremony for APALA Award (Monsoon Afternoon), Chicago McCormick Place West (MCP) W 196b
• 10:00am–11:00am: Signing with Yoshiko Jaeggi, Peachtree Booth # 1613
• 11:00am–12:00pm: Kashmira signing, Hyperion Booth # 2247
• 1:00pm–2:00pm: Signing with Yoshiko Jaeggi, Peachtree Booth # 1613

On Education

“Why is the theme of education so important to you?” A student asked me.

It opened up a flood of emotions for me. How without education women I knew had suffered. How my widowed great-aunt fought to go to a bigger city so she could pursue a teaching profession. How my father supported one of his sisters who wished to study Sanskrit at the Banaras Hindu University. I realized what the student had asked came deeply from who I am.
Over and over again I am amazed by young readers' insightful questions. This one came last week. I met a group of seventh graders from the Monroe School District at the University Book Store in Madison. The students are in a book club and had read Keeping Corner so the visit was informal. I talked about my background, journey as an immigrant, and then opened it up for Q&A. This is one of my favorite ways to interact with older students: it gives me a chance to get to know the readers, their concerns, their interests and dreams. And always, I come out of the exchange enriched, excited, and humbled.
I will be attending the International Reading Association meeting in Phoenix and I am excited to meet Kadir Nelson. His work is outstanding and touching.

Thank You, Judy

I was interviewed by Judy Bryan and she has posted it along with information about my books on:

http://community.livejournal.com/kidlit_central/35306.html

I met Judy in 2002 at a SCBWI-WI conference and we talked about forming a critique group - we both are still on it. Over the years, she has been an invaluable partner in my writing journey.

I hope you enjoy it. Thank you, Judy!

Festival of Lights

HAPPY DIWALI and SAAL MUBAREK!

Fall

I love this time of the year. There is something about fall that gently takes me back home, back to what is important, what matters most in my life. Autumn inspires reflection. If spring is full of possibilities and summer is marked by  frenzy of activities, fall is time to wind down. Maybe that is why I get more writing done in fall than any other time of the year. In the spring I am distracted, in the summer I am busy with a thousand things but as the weather cools and my plants turn maroon and auburn, gold and scarlet, I sit back and start writing. I feel grateful for the opportunities I have to write  stories and float them out to the world.
Which is your favorite time of the year and why?

Thank You

I'd like to thank everyone who attended the book launch of Monsoon Afternoon. I hope you had fun reading the book as much as I had fun writing it.

Interview with Kashmira: Pen World Voices

Listen to the interview of the author at the Pen World Voices (The New York Festival of International Literature): http://hub.witness.org/en/node/7766

Keeping Corner Wins Another Award

On April 9th I traveled to Chicago to attend the Friends of American Writers Awards Luncheon.
The Friends of American Writers was established in 1922 in Chicago to focus on American Literature and to encourage high standards among new American Writers.  Since 1928, awards have been given annually for outstanding books by authors coming from Midwestern states, or books which have stories that take place in Midwestern settings. The Annual Juvenile Book Merit Awards began in 1960.
The Friends of American Writers gives four awards each year—two to adult books, one to a children’s picture book, and one to a children’s chapter book—and this year I received news that my book, Keeping Corner is the winner of the 2008 Friends of American Writers Award for Children’s Chapter Book.
It was a wonderful celebration and I enjoyed meeting the members of the club as well as other award winners.

The Reviews are in for Keeping Corner.....

2007 Parents' Choice Gold Winner

"This powerful and enchanting novel juxtaposes Leela's journey to self-determination with the parallel struggle of her family and community to follow Gandhi on the road to independence from British rule. Among the vivid and appealing characters is India itself."
Starred Review, Kirkus

"Sheth (Blue Jasmine, 2004) sets up a thrilling premise in which politics become achingly personal as Leela’s brave, tumultuous coming-of-age plays out in intimate detail against the backdrop of her nation’s independence. Idealistic teens will be caught up in the human-rights issues, and the vivid cultural specifics, memorable characters, and the bold adolescent’s challenge to tradition will attract a wide readership."
Starred Review, Booklist

"……absorbing, atmospheric novel…. Sheth expertly weaves rich descriptions into the day-to-day activities (“Ideas sank into my mind like monsoon rain into soil”)."
Starred Review, Publisher’s Weekly

 

As in Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet (Hyperion, 2006), Sheth provides a first-person narrative with a strong protagonist and rich sense of place, with the added bonus of an unusual historical perspective.

Starred review, School Library Journal

Keeping Corner - Kirkus Starred Review!

In Gujarat, India, during World War I, Mohandas Gandhi has opened an ashram attracting followers to his movement for Indian self-determination. In a nearby village, Leela, 12, married at age nine, looks forward to moving to her husband’s home. When he dies unexpectedly, Brahman custom requires her confinement at home for a year, “keeping corner.” Prohibited from ever remarrying, her head shaved and pretty saris put away, Leela faces a barren future. Her loving family is heartbroken, but only Leela’s brother has the courage to buck tradition, hiring a tutor to educate her. This powerful and enchanting novel juxtaposes Leela’s journey to self-determination with the parallel struggle of her family and community to follow Gandhi on the road to independence from British rule. Among the vivid and appealing characters is India itself. Natural and human cycles—dry and monsoon seasons, landscape and animals, customs religious and secular—are rendered with a rich sensual palate. We leave Leela and her country poised to cross the threshold of autonomy at that enchanting moment when anything seems possible. (Fiction. 12+)

- Kirkus (Starred review, 10/1/2007 issue)