New Book & Author
Beloved readers,
A debut KidLit novel in verse is releasing soon!
About the author:
Thushanthi Ponweera is a children’s author and poet. She lives in Colombo, Sri Lanka where she grew up reading and falling in love with stories about children in places that were foreign to her. She hopes that similarly someday children from around the world will read and fall in love with stories about children in Sri Lanka. She hopes to write those stories.
Thushanthi is a 2021 We Need Diverse Books Mentee and a blog volunteer for the same organization where she interviews diverse writers and illustrators about their upcoming releases. Before daring to follow her dream of being published, she was a marketing specialist and entrepreneur. She is thankful to be married to a man who constantly encourages her to follow her dreams and is a mother to two gorgeous children who inspire her to be a better person. She loves drinking milk tea, watching the rain, travelling, and afternoon naps. I am Kavi is her first novel.
About the book (from publisher/ back cover):
This dazzling novel-in-verse comes from an astonishing new talent who lived through the civil war herself. Perfect for fans of Jamine Warga, Supriya Kelkar, and Rajani LaRocca, I Am Kavi centers a powerful South Asian voice, and stars an unforgettable heroine each and every one of us can relate to.
"KAVI'S COURAGE AND VOICE ARE NOT TO BE MISSED."—Reem Faruqi, award-winning author of Call Me Adnan, Unsettled, and Golden Girl
"I LOVED IT!"—Nizrana Farook, award-winning author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant
"POWERFULLY WRITTEN."—Lyn Miller-Lachmann, author of Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner Torch
"LUSH AND EVOCATIVE... A STUNNING DEBUT."—Kate Albus, award-winning author of A Place to Hang the Moon
I reached out to her for a written interview to learn more about her writing journey and the significance of this book.
Why did you chose to write in this poetic style?
I've always enjoyed writing free verse since my teen years but it wasn't till a few years ago that I knew entire novels could be written in this form! I like the sparseness and thoughtfulness it requires to condense a story into poems. So it was an obvious choice.
This is the book about a part of south Asian history I’ve been awaiting. I’ve as yet to read a children’s story set in Sri Lanka by someone who is from there. Please share a bit more about how your own family history shows up in Kavi’s story.
I've lived in Sri Lanka all my life (and will be moving countries for the first time ever soon! Help!) and that too in Colombo. So a lot of Kavi's "urban" life in Colombo is based on my own experiences. We weren't super wealthy like Kavi's friends but I was certainly more privileged than most; something I'm constantly aware of and grateful for.
There are many challenging themes woven thoughtfully into a coming of age story. How did you reconcile writing about war and poverty in ways that don’t reify trauma or harm?
This book wasn't meant to be about war and poverty at all. They just happened to be a part of my protagonist's circumstances. I strongly believe that despite things looking very bleak and challenging on an external level, these are still real people living full lives, including joy and triumphs. Staying immersed in Kavi's POV-- she's a glass half-full kinda girl definitely-- and being authentic to her voice helped me reflect those positive experiences.
This is your debut book. What was your unique writing journey leading you to become author? Specifically, why do you write for younger people?
My writing journey can be attributed to the pandemic. That's when it all started. A fellow Sri Lankan friend, Amanda Jayatissa, sold her book around that time and I thought, "hey, maybe I can do that too". I was blissfully ignorant and optimistic perhaps!
My kids are 8 and 5 and I like to write books that they are able to read and understand. Books made such a big impression on me as a child and it's a powerful way to enrich young minds. And children's books are wonderful to read at any age. These are some of the reasons I chose to write for children. And the fact that I'm really still a child at heart!
What are your hopes for this book?
That more children (and adults) will read and learn about my beautiful country. That they realise that even thousands of miles away and decades apart, there are universal experiences and emotions that we feel. Oh, and I hope it becomes a bestseller, haha!
I’ve had the joy of reading an advance copy of this book and highly encourage parents, families and educators of younger readers ages 8-13 to preorder it.
Preorder & more info about the book: https://holidayhouse.com/book/i-am-kavi/
in celebration of desi KidLit writing community,
Desi Book Aunty