I’m holding a prop to make this picture cuter — did it work?

About Sudipta

Phone: 973-387-0121

E-mail: sudipta@sudipta.com

Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen never thought she’d grow up to be a writer. As a child, she thought of being a doctor (but she’s afraid of blood), a lawyer (but she doesn’t like losing arguments), a carpenter (but she’s too clumsy), a model (but she likes eating too much), a presidential candidate (but she had a dissolute youth), a UN ambassador (the argument losing thing again)… really, almost everything but a writer.   

In fact, in 2001, Sudipta was well on her way to not being a writer. She had graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1998 with a BS in Biology, married her college sweetheart Jim that summer, and then had returned to Caltech as a PhD candidate in developmental biology. That’s when she and Jim had their first child, Isabella. Bella’s birth didn’t change Sudipta’s plans – she thought she’d take a long maternity leave and then return to graduate school. Then, her daughter Brooklyn came along.

With two small children, Sudipta found herself less interested in biology as she was in parenting. And for the first time, she found that she had stories to tell, stories she wanted to share with her daughters. A friend encouraged her to try to get published. After a half-dozen rejections, in 2003, Sudipta sold her first story to a children’s magazine, Highlights for Children.

Using her science background as a springboard, Sudipta began writing nonfiction books for children, including Championship Science Fair Projects, Last Minute Science Fair Projects, AIDS, and Autism. She branched out into other nonfiction, including biographies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Jane Goodall, and altogether, Sudipta has written 16 nonfiction books for children. 

Her first love, however, was always picture books, so using a facility with word play and a love for animals (especially pigs), Sudipta worked on a number of manuscripts. Most of them were rejected (she freely admits, when she started writing picture books, they really stank!).

Sudipta persevered, and fittingly, her first picture book, Tightrope Poppy, the High-Wire Pig, illustrated by Sarah Dillard, about a proud pig who perseveres was published in 2006. This was followed in 2007 by The Mine-o-saur, illustrated by David Clark. Sudipta has six other picture books scheduled for the next few years, including The Hog Prince, illustrated by Jason Wolff, Snoring Beauty, illustrated by Denise Brunkus, and The Hampire, illustrated by Howard Fine. Her husband and children, now including a son named Sawyer who was born in 2006, are a constant source of inspiration. Sudipta has heard the words “Mine! Mine! Mine!” shouted so many times that The Mine-o-saur almost flowed out of her mind naturally. Watching her daughters devour donuts inspired The Hampire, dress up playdates inspired Pirate Princess, and her husband inspired Snoring Beauty (not that she is admitting that he snores!).

Sudipta visits schools to share her stories and experience, and teaches writing to children and adults. Home used to be New Jersey, but for now is temporarily London, England, where she lives with her husband, three children, and an imaginary pony named Penny (it is harder than you think to get an imaginary pony to behave on a plane!).

To contact me:

with the girls

with hubby

at a book signing