Uma Krishnaswami

Uma Krishnaswami is the author of more than twenty books for children, from picture books through novels for young readers. Her picture books include Monsoon, The Happiest Tree, The Girl of the Wish Garden, Bright Sky, Starry City and Out of the Way! Out of the Way!). Her novels for young readers include (The Grand Plan to Fix Everything and The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic). Twenty years after its first publication, her traditional story collection, The Broken Tusk: Stories of the Hindu God Ganesha, continues to be a definitive introduction to its material for young readers. A sweeping nonfiction project and a middle grade historical novel are currently in press with Atheneum and Tu Books/Lee & Low respectively.

Uma’s books have been published in twelve languages and have been picked for CCBC Choices, Parents’ Choice, IRA’s Notable Books for a Global Society, the Scientific American Young Readers’ Book Award, Bank Street Best Books of the Year and the Paterson Prize. Her chapter book, Book Uncle and Me, won the 2011 Scholastic Asian Book Award and the Crossword award in India in the children’s writing category.

Born in New Delhi, India, Uma teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, Vermont, in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Many of her students have gone on to establish successful writing careers.

Uma lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her web site, http://umakrishnaswami.org, offers information on her books as well as resources for teachers and writers.