Padma Venkatraman was born in India and lived in England, Germany and the UAE, before becoming an American citizen. Padma Venkatraman is the author of two critically acclaimed novels for young adults: Climbing the Stairs and Island’s End. Both were included on ALA’s BBYA, Booklist’s Editor’s Choices, CCBC , NYPL Books for the Teen Age and numerous other best book lists. In addition, Climbing the Stairs won the Julia Ward Howe award and several other honors; Island’s End won the Paterson Prize, the South Asia Book award and other accolades.