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 2024, Jen Breach (writer, VCFA graduate, and former student) 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.
Children’s Book Press Turns 50!
Children’s Book Press, founded by Harriet Rohmer in 1975, published my second picture book, Chachaji’s Cup, a story set against the history of India’s partition, at a time when American picture books with brown characters were about as rare as flying pigs. When the press closed and the CBP list was acquired by another of my publishers, Lee and Low, it felt like predestination.
This year, Children's Book Press turns 50. In honor of this milestone, I'm reviving an old post from 2010, the year they turned 35, when I traded emails with editors I’d worked with, Janet del Mundo and Dana Goldberg.