South Asia Book Award

03/27/2023

This March, students and community members from Dublin, CA read "Manjhi Moves a Mountain" by Nancy Churnin Children's Books, a 2018 SABA winner for younger readers. Check out this story for more details!

Throughout the month of March, the city of Dublin will be engaging in a unifying literacy initiative known as One City, One Book. The program invites students, parents and community members to read the same book together.

11/10/2022

Winners of the 2022 South Asia Book Award will be on hand to discuss the creation of their stories, read excerpts, and sign copies of their award-winning children's books! Join us this Saturday, Nov. 12 from 3-4:30 in the children's area at Central Library. Copies of the books will be on sale thanks to A Room of One's Own Bookstore and authors will be available for signing! Register: https://bit.ly/3STHh7S

Hosted in partnership with Wisconsin Book Festival , Center for South Asia at UW-Madison , and IRIS NRC with sponsorship from the South Asia National Outreach Consortium.

07/15/2022

The SABA Committee is delighted to announce our 2022 Honor Books. Congratulations!!

Where Three Oceans Meet written by Rajani LaRocca and illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan (Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2021).

Burying the Moon by written by Andrée Poulin and illustrated by Sonali Zohra (Groundwood Books, 2021).

American Betiya by Anuradha D. Rajurkar (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2021).

07/15/2022

The SABA Committee is pleased to announce our 2022 Award Books.

The Award for Middle Grade Readers has been given to “Born Behind Bars” by Padma Venkatraman (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021). Congratulations!

Kabir was born in jail, where his mother was unjustly serving time. When determined that he was too old to stay and is suddenly released, he loses the only family and home he knows. The rest of the story is about him, learning how to survive in the world, with the help of Rani, a street girl. (Grades 5-8)

Padma Venkatraman

07/15/2022

The SABA Committee is pleased to announce our 2022 Award Books.

The Award for Younger Readers has been given to “Dancing in Thatha's Footsteps” written by Srividhya Venkat and illustrated by Kavita Ramchandran (Yali Books, 2021). Congratulations!

Thatha takes his granddaughter Varsha to weekly Bharatanatyam classical dance lessons while her brother, Varun, tags along. Unexpectedly, the rhythm draws Varun in, but amid spirit crushing comments he’s uncertain that dance is for boys until Thatha shows his dance moves and reveals his past as a dancer in India. (Grades PK-2)

07/15/2022

The SABA Committee is pleased to announce our 2022 Award Books.

The Award for Older Readers has been given to “The Marvelous Mirza Girls” by Sheba Karim (Harper Collins, 2021). Congratulations!

A mother and daughter story of resilience, strength, and love, as they rediscover themselves and each other while being lost in the myriad gallis of the City of Djinns, Delhi. Sheba Karim transports you with Ruby and Noreen to heart and soul of Delhi through her vivid descriptions of culture, architecture, ruins, and of course-the food. (Grades 9-12)

07/07/2022

Join 2023 SABA Committee member, Ritu Radhakrishnan, on July 17 as she moderates a virtual discussion with two Indian authors about navigating cultural borders.

Join us for a conversation about what it means to answer the question, "Are you Indian?" if you were not born in India.