Writing With a Broken Tusk

Writing With a Broken Tusk began in 2006 as a blog about overlapping geographies, personal and real-world, and writing books for children. The blog name refers to the mythical pact made between the poet Vyaasa and the Hindu elephant headed god Ganesha who was his scribe during the composition of the Mahabharata. It also refers to my second published book, edited by the generous and brilliant Diantha Thorpe of Linnet Books/The Shoe String Press, published in 1996, acquired and republished by August House and still miraculously in print.

Since March, writer and former student Jen Breach has helped me manage guest posts and Process Talk pieces on this blog. They have lined up and conducted author/illustrator interviews and invited and coordinated guest posts. That support has helped me get through weeks when I’ve been in edit-copyedit-proofing mode, and it’s also introduced me to writers and books I might not have found otherwise. Our overlapping interests have led to posts for which I might not have had the time or attention-span. It’s the beauty of shared circles—Venn diagrams, anyone?

Uma Krishnaswami 12/3/24 Uma Krishnaswami 12/3/24

Time-travel and Y2K in Erin Entrada Kelly’s The First State of Being

For those intrigued by offbeat days dedicated to strange pursuits, December 8 is Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day. By whom this was first declared, and why, remain unclear, but let’s celebrate here by considering Erin Entrada Kelly’s middle grade novel, The First State of Being.

It takes a visitor from the future for the protagonist, 12-year-old Michael Rosario, to find himself. The novel raises questions about what it means to be human and to live in a particular time and place, and about how history is fashioned and shaped out of the lives of people.

Uma Krishnaswami 9/24/24 Uma Krishnaswami 9/24/24

Process Talk: Jasmine Warga on A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

At the ABA Children’s Institute in New Orleans this summer, I ran intoJasmine Warga and picked up an ARC of her middle grade novel, A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall. It’s a delightful middle grade that spins outward from the main character’s diffidence and self-deprecating humor to a theft at the museum where his mother works as a cleaner. The starred review in Kirkus calls it a “slowly unfurling delight.”

Here’s my email conversation with Jasmine about the book:

Uma Krishnaswami 8/6/24 Uma Krishnaswami 8/6/24

Guest Post: Julianna Swaney on Illustrating Birds on the Brain

Birds on the Brain—Book II in what has now become the Book Uncle trilogy!—is out today from Groundwood Books!

When we first asked Julianna Swaney to tell us about the cheerful, lively art she’s created for the book, we hadn’t quite understood the extent to which her love of birds informed her work on this story. What a lovely surprise! Here’s what Julianna wrote:

Uma Krishnaswami 10/31/23 Uma Krishnaswami 10/31/23

Magic and Community in Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott

I’ve been meaning to read the Dragons in a Bag series by Zetta Elliott for awhile and something or the other kept getting in the way. I finally got to listen to the audiobook of Book 1. It kept me company as I began to muddle through the revision of a middle grade fantasy work-in-progress of my own.

Uma Krishnaswami 12/6/21 Uma Krishnaswami 12/6/21

Process Talk: Padma Venkatraman on Born Behind Bars

I’ve been meaning to talk to Padma Venkatraman for a long time. Padma is the multi-talented author of books like The Bridge Home, A Time to Dance, and Island’s End, and a former oceanographer who brings the richness of her life experience to her work.

This lightly edited transcript is drawn from our conversation.

Uma Krishnaswami 6/1/21 Uma Krishnaswami 6/1/21

Process Notes: Cynthia Leitich Smith on Sisters of the Neversea

This is not the first time my gifted VCFA colleague and longtime friend, Cynthia Leitich Smith, has held conversations with the literary canon. Her Tantalize series is an ongoing bestselling heart-to-heart over several volumes with Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Uma Krishnaswami 5/18/21 Uma Krishnaswami 5/18/21

Wordplay and Profiteering: Fran Wilde on The Ship of Stolen Words

The Ship of Stolen Words blends humor and wordplay with eccentric magic. How about this for starters? A group of goblins steals a boy’s ability to use a magic word: “sorry.” And we’re off on an adventure involving goblin technology, miniature pigs, a couple of friends temporarily at odds, a Little Free Library, and more.

Uma Krishnaswami 5/4/21 Uma Krishnaswami 5/4/21

Guest Post: Terry Nichols on Real-life Setting in The Dreaded Cliff

From my friend of many years and one-time park ranger at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Terry Nichols, here’s a delightful middle grade that Kirkus called “linguistically rich and frequently humorous.”