GENRE: **Diverse, SEL, Lyrical
WORDS: 570
Query:
Dear Judges, Agents and Editors,
Thank you for the opportunity to share my 570-word manuscript, THE SHAKTIS WITHIN US.
Mondays are karate days for Durga. She is always ready to kick and punch, except this Monday. Durga is testing for her first ever karate belt. But her fear of failing keeps surfacing in different ways. Drawing strength from her Indian roots, Durga must find a way to kick and punch her fear, only to discover the shaktis, the powers that she has within her at all times, in all situations. This lyrical, own-voice story demonstrates the universal message of finding courage within oneself to overcome fear and come out victorious.
Shaktis Within Us has the strength to turn an ‘I CAN’T’ to a ‘YES, I CAN’ found in I Am Courage – A Book of Resilience by Susan Verde & Peter H. Reynolds, as well as the power to face one’s fear bravely found in The Little Fear by Luke Scriven and the inspiration of Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave by Jessica Hische.
I am grateful for winning the Own Voices Own Stories Award (2022) by Sleeping Bear Press that landed me a publishing contract for my debut picture book, A Kurta To Remember (released in 2024) illustrated by Avani Dwivedi, which is now nominated for the 2025 Pedro and Daniel Intersectionality Book Awards Longlist. I also won the SCBWI Many Voices Prize in 2021 and was a #PBPartyFinalist in the same year.
I continue to work on my craft by being an active Gold member of 12 X 12 and a member of SCBWI. Born and brought up in India, and having worked in three countries as a writer in advertising, I proudly carry my culture wherever I go.
I have additional picture book manuscripts available upon request.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Excerpt:
Monday is
dojo day
for Durga.
The day
for karate,
katas and
kiyayhs!
But today
is not like
other Mondays.
Durga is testing
for her first belt –
the yellow belt.
“Next up, Durga!”
announces her Sensei.
Durga’s knees wobble,
her hands sweat,
her face tenses.
“What if I fail?” Durga mutters.
As she bends her knee,
takes her stance,
Durga doesn’t see herself
in the mirror.
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
As a mother, there would be times when I had noticed my daughter’s crippling fear of failing. “What if I fail?” she would ask. I was compelled to dig deeper to find a way to help her find her inner strength to overcome any fear. Fear of public speaking or even fear of doing the right thing. Inspired by the stories that are deeply rooted in the Hindu culture, yet have an universal message of discovering one’s shaktis that one has within oneself at all times, in all situations led me to write this story. This story will remind readers of all ages to believe in their shaktis, their powers to overcome anything in life.
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