Padma Venkatraman author page

Padma Venkatraman biography

Padma Venkatraman is an American author and oceanographer whose books for children and young adults include novels in prose and verse. Born in India, she lived in several countries before moving to the United States. Before becoming a full-time writer, she earned a doctorate in oceanography from the College of William & Mary, conducted postdoctoral research in environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University, and taught oceanography at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography.

Her first novel, Climbing the Stairs, was published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in 2008 and was selected for YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults list. She followed it with Island’s End, winner of the 2012 South Asia Book Award for Middle Grade Readers, and the verse novel A Time to Dance, which was named a 2015 ALSC Notable Children’s Book and selected for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults.

Venkatraman’s The Bridge Home, published by Nancy Paulsen Books, received the 2020 Walter Dean Myers Award for Younger Readers and the Golden Kite Award for Middle Grade Fiction. Her later middle-grade novels include Born Behind Bars, published in 2021, and the 2025 verse novel Safe Harbor, about Geetha, a girl who moves from India to the United States and becomes involved in rescuing an injured harbor seal while adjusting to her new life.

In 2026 Venkatraman moved into picture books with Faraway Family, illustrated by Nicole Wong, about a young girl finding a way to connect with relatives who initially feel like strangers. Nancy Paulsen Books published Faraway Family on August 25, 2026.