Author | Lightnews

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 3d

Reflections on Timothy Snyder's book, On Freedom.
www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/erroneo...

Erroneously Informed, Unnecessarily Dead — Uma Krishnaswami

On Freedom is Timothy Snyder’s ( On Tyranny ) meditation on the nature of people, especially Americans, and the meaning of freedom. Historian Snyder argues that freedom is a concept in need of rescui...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 10d

Why bother bargaining over Ukraine when there's a ballroom to build, the East Wing to demolish, and a universe of taste-free, fake-king AI videos to conquer?

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 10d

US shelves plans for Trump-Putin talks in Budapest

White House says there are now no plans for summit ‘in the immediate future’ as latest efforts to end Ukraine war falter * US politics live – latest updates Plans to hold a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest have been put on hold as Ukraine and its European allies rallied behind the US in pushing for a ceasefire without territorial concessions from Kyiv. The White House said there were now “no plans” for the US president to meet his Russian counterpart “in the immediate future” as a round of diplomacy at the end of last week failed to yield any significant progress towards ending the war. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 10d

Caroline Carlson chats with me about her middle grade fantasy with real-world implications, The Tinkerers.
www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/process...

Process Talk: Caroline Carlson on The Tinkerers — Uma Krishnaswami

Stargazers Valley is an isolated village where Peter, the young protagonist of The Tinkerers , gazes at st ars, listens to stories, and tries not to step on star-eating newts. Peter lives an ordin...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

Reposted by Uma Krishnaswami

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 12d

[checks calendar]

550 2.7K 12K

Reposted by Uma Krishnaswami

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12d

Peep the byline

280 750 4.3K

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 13d

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 14d

Just a reminder that people are rallying in solidarity outside the US as well. In many countries including Canada we’re calling these No Tyrants rallies.

1 1 1

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 17d

My conversation with Cynthia Leitich Smith about her picture book, Firefly Season
www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/process...
#picturebooks

Process Talk: Cynthia Leitich Smith on Firefly Season — Uma Krishnaswami

Among the many voices bringing contemporary Indigenous stories to young readers in North America, one narrative has been conspicuous in its absence. By that I mean stories of relationships between Nat...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

1

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 24d

Outrageous yet unsurprising. This is what autocrats do when they assume office--stifle a free press and elevate only the voices of their choosing.

1

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 24d

As Children's Book Press Turns 50, here's a look back to when they turned 35. www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/childre...

Children’s Book Press Turns 50! — Uma Krishnaswami

Children’s Book Press, founded by Harriet Rohmer in 1975, published my second picture book, Chachaji’s Cup , a story set against the history of India’s partition, at a time when American pictur...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · 29d

Process Talk: Karen Krossing on My Street Remembers
www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/process...
#picturebooks

Process Talk: Karen Krossing on My Street Remembers — Uma Krishnaswami

In a big-hearted treatment of place and history, akin to Australian writer Nadia Wheatley’s iconic picture book, My Place , Karen Krossing’s latest release, My Street Remembers , is grounded in con...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

1

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Sep 25

Talking to Payal Kapadia about Woebegone's Warehouse of Words: www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/process...
#middlegrade

Process Talk: Payal Kapadia on Woebegone’s Warehouse of Words — Uma Krishnaswami

“Where nothing can be named, nothing is.” In the tradition of novels that play with words ( The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, The Wonderful O by James Thurber, The Neverending Story ...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

1

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Sep 18

Books talking to other books on Writing With a Broken Tusk:

www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/books-i...

Books in Conversation with Other Books — Uma Krishnaswami

bibliophile | ˈbiblēəˌfīl | noun a person who collects or has a great love of books That would be me, from the tender age of four, when I received this book as a prize in the admittedly modest cat...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Sep 9

Lulu Delacre on her little coquis in the final book of the Rafi and Rosi Series. www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/guest-p...

#earlyreading #childrensbooks

Guest Post: Lulu Delacre on A Recipe for a Beginner Reader Series — Uma Krishnaswami

I fell in love with Lulu Delacre’s little coquí characters from the first time I laid eyes on Rafi and Rosi . These little siblings frolic in their Puerto Rican habitat where Rafi makes magic and a...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

1

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Sep 7

Stop Acting Like This Is Normal www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/o...

Opinion | Stop Acting Like This Is Normal

www.nytimes.com

4 4

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Sep 2

On celebrities who insist on writing children's books: www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/on-cele...

Scrabble tiles spell out the words "real is rare."

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 26

The Department of Government Efficiency….now there’s a close relative of the Ministries of Peace, Truth, Love, and Plenty. Right out of Oceania, we’re seeing doublethink rise up and take wing.

2

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 26

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow on picture books and the playfulness of children:
www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/guest-p...

Guest Post: Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, Picture Books and the Playfulness of Children — Uma Krishnaswami

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow knew she wanted to be a writer at the age of seven when she wrote a story called “Little Ballerina” and wasn’t satisfied with it when she finished it. She added a sequel ...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 24

Trump Administration Orders Work Halted on Wind Farm That Is Nearly Built www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/c...

Trump Administration Orders Work Halted on Wind Farm That Is Nearly Built

www.nytimes.com

1 2

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 24

The Endangered Species Act brought the bald eagle back from the brink of extinction. Now 47’s regime is after it.
insideclimatenews.org/news/2408202...

The ‘Hotel California’ of Biodiversity - Inside Climate News

Go behind the scenes with executive editor Vernon Loeb and conservation reporter Kiley Price as they explain why everyone’s talking about the Endangered Species List.

insideclimatenews.org

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 19

From Lola Opatayo, a meditation on what happens when you refuse to treat this writing business as a competitive sport.

Guest Post: The Gift of Fire by Lola Opatayo — Uma Krishnaswami

Lola Opatayo is a crafter of words and the host of a generous, welcoming literary podcast, Journey of the Art, on which she invites writers and storytellers to talk about their art. I ...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 16

Because he always parrots whatever the last person he talked to told him. Because he’s vile and self-serving and brain-free.

Live Updates: Trump Backs Plan to Cede Land for Peace in Ukraine www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...

Live Updates: Trump Backs Plan to Cede Land for Peace in Ukraine

www.nytimes.com

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 13

Rules, Rights, and Duties: Editors from Tulika Books on their new picture book, 5 Fantastic Facts About the Indian Constitution.
www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/rules-r...

Rules, Rights, and Duties: the World’s Longest Constitution Distilled for Kids — Uma Krishnaswami

From its mango-yellow endpapers with letters scribbled across them in multiple Indian language scripts to its freshly voiced text and the colourful, energetic illustrations by Ashok Rajagopalan, 5 F...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 6

I thought this was an Internet conspiracy but it really does look as if sections 9 and 10 of article 1 are missing. We’re now in Brave New World territory: constitution.congress.gov/constitution...

constitution.congress.gov

Uma Krishnaswami @brokentusk1.bsky.social · Aug 5

The Sunshine Project, Book Uncle Book 3--out today from Groundwood Books in Canada/US and Duckbill/Penguin Randon House in India.
www.umakrishnaswami.com/blog/the-pro...

The Promise of a Series: Writing the Book Uncle Trilogy — Uma Krishnaswami

When Jenn Bailey contemplated a chapter book series about a character she’d only intended to write a single picture book about, she asked herself these questions: Was my character big enough? Di...

www.umakrishnaswami.com

1