|
That's a good question. I've been trying to figure it out myself, spending most of my life crossing borders.
I was born Mitali Bose in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, and always tried to live up to my name—which means “friendly” in the Bangla language. I had to! Because my family moved so much, it was the only way I could make new friends.
By the time I was 11, I'd lived in Ghana, Cameroon, London, New York and Mexico before settling in California just in time for middle school. Yep, I was the new kid again, in seventh grade, the year everybody barely makes it through.
My biggest lifeline during those early years was story. Books were my rock, my stability, my safe place as I navigated the border between California suburbia and the Bengali culture of my traditional home.
After studying political science at Stanford and public policy at U.C. Berkeley, I taught in middle school, high school and college. When I began to write fiction, my protagonists were often—not surprisingly—strong female characters trying to bridge different cultures.
My newest is Secret Keeper (Random House), a novel for teens that made the ALA's Amelia Bloomer list of great titles that empower girls.
Coming next in July 2010 is Bamboo People (Charlesbridge), a Junior Library Guild selection, which actually features boys on the cover -- a first for me!
My first novel, The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen (Little Brown), is the story of a California middle-schooler whose traditional Indian grandparents visit for a year, completely upending her typical teenage world. Wonder where I got that idea? Try asking my parents. :) I'm so delighted that it was as an ALA Book for Reluctant Readers and the winner of the Christian School’s Association’s Lamplighter Award.
Next came Monsoon Summer (Random House), featuring a biracial teen who goes back to India for a life-changing summer of romance and realizations. This novel was an ALA Quick Pick, a Bank Street Best Book, a New York Library Book for the Teen Age, and a Texas Library Association TAYSHAS Best Book for Young Adults. Hooray!
The First Daughter novels (Dutton), two fast, light reads for teens, explore the campaign experience through the eyes of a candidate’s adopted Pakistani-American daughter. These were fun to write during an election year.
I also published Rickshaw Girl (Charlesbridge), a story for younger readers about a young Bangladeshi girl who challenges the traditional female roles in her village. I was thrillled when the book won the Jane Addams Honor Award, the Maine Lupine Honor Award, and the Julia Ward Howe Honor Award.
After stints in Bangladesh, India, and Thailand, I've finally settled down a bit in Newton, MA, with my husband, a minister, and twin teenage sons. Oh, and two labradors. And one ferret. And three fish. (If you want to find out how I ended up as a minister's wife, you'll find the start of the story here.)
I love visiting schools and libraries to discuss “books between cultures” and the life-changing power of story.
I'm proud to be a talent scout for readergirlz, on the editorial advisory board for Kahani Magazine, and a member of PEN, SCBWI, the Kidlitosphere, and the Boston Author's Club. I love it when people stop by my virtual “fire escape” (mitaliperkins.com), or my blog about books between cultures (mitaliblog.com).
Here are some interviews where you'll probably find out more about me than you ever wanted to know:
1. Cynsations
2. Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
3. Hip Writer Mama
4. School Library Journal
5. Big A little a
6. Paper Tiger
7. India New England
8. Mother Reader
9. Books in 140 via Twitter
10. The Life Uncommon
|
