T. V. Padma


Padma Venkatraman, also known as T. V. Padma, is an American author who was born in India.

Early life

Venkatraman was born in Chennai, a city in the south of India. She moved to the United States to pursue her studies further. She obtained her doctorate degree in oceanography at the College of William and Mary, did postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University and worked at the University of Rhode Island.

Career

Venkatraman's debut novel, Climbing the Stairs, was released to starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly and Voice of Youth Advocates. The Providence Journal’s called it a “fine, often heartbreaking first novel” and pointed out that, although he was not a “young” adult, he loved it and had not realized that it was categorized as such until it was pointed out to him. The novel also received glowing reviews in Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, India New England News and India Currents. Climbing the Stairs won the 2009 Julia Ward Howe Award for Young Readers and the ASTAL (Alliance for the Study and Teaching of Adolescent Literature

Personal life

Venkatraman is an American and lives in Rhode Island, USA, with her family. She turned to writing after obtaining a doctorate in oceanography at the College of William and Mary and conducting post-doctoral research in Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Awards

Venkatraman is also the recipient of the 2008 SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Nonfiction and the winner of a Storytelling World honor for her picture book The Cleverest Thief, published by August House.