Vasanti Unka

Vasanti Unka is a New Zealand writer, illustrator and graphic designer who has been involved in the book and magazine industry for many years. A number of her books have been shortlisted for awards and she won Best Picture Book and Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award at the 2014 New Zealand Post Book Awards with The Boring Book. She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

Biography

Vasanti Unka trained as a graphic designer and later studied for a master's degree in Design in 2009.^[1] She has worked in the book and magazine industry for many years as an art director and art editor^[2] and has illustrated picture books, craft books and magazine articles.^[1] She lives in Auckland, New Zealand.^[3]

In 2015, Vasanti Unka appeared at the Bookaroo Children's Literature Festival in New Delhi,^[4][2] Goa and Pune^[5][6] and in 2017, she also took part in the Bookaroo Festival in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.^[7][8] In 2015, 2016 and 2017, she was part of the New Zealand Book Council Writers in Communities project, working with students of Ōtāhuhu Primary School in south Auckland.^[9]

In a 2018 article, she describes her work as "an exploration in visual language" and writes about her cultural heritage, her design influences, and on the need for diversity in children's book publishing to reflect New Zealand's multicultural society.^[10] She designed the cover^[11] and created some of the portraits for Go Girl: a Storybook of Epic NZ (Puffin, 2018) by Barbara Else.^[12]

Vasanti Unka was compiler of the book With A Suitcase Of Saris: From India To Aotearoa: Stories Of Pioneer Indian Women, which relates the stories - told by their daughters and granddaughters - of some of the first Indian women to immigrate to New Zealand.^[13][14]

Awards and prizes 

A number of Vasanti Unka's books have been shortlisted for awards or named as Storylines Notable Books.

The Boring Book won Best Picture Book and Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award at the 2014 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.^[15][16] It was described by Barbara Else, Convener of Judges, as a “thoroughly original” book that charmed and enchanted its young readers with its “subversive touches” and “warmth and fun.”^[17][18] It was also chosen as a White Raven Book in 2014^[19] and an IBBY Honour Book in 2016.^[1]

Bibliography

• Ice Cream Snow by Janet Slater Bottin (Scholastic, 2001)
• Love to Sing Playtime Songs (Learn to Sing/ Scholastic, 2007)
• Love to Sing Nursery Rhymes (Learn to Sing/ Scholastic, 2007)
• The Bean's Story by Tatiana Aslund (Scholastic, 2007)
• Hill & Hole by Kyle Mewburn (Penguin, 2010)
• Star Boy and Friends: How to Make Cool Stuff from Socks and Gloves (Penguin, 2010)
• Weird Wabbit and Friends: How to Make Cool Stuff from Felt (Penguin, 2010)
• The Boring Book (Penguin, 2013)
• Stripes! No, Spots! (Penguin, 2015)
• With A Suitcase Of Saris: From India To Aotearoa: Stories Of Pioneer Indian Women (compiled by Vasanti Unka) (My Sunroom, 2016)
• Who Stole the Rainbow? (Penguin Random House NZ, 2018)^[20]
• I Am the Universe (Penguin Random House NZ, 2020)
• My Elephant is Blue by Melinda Szymanik (Puffin [Penguin NZ], 2021)

References

1. "Vasanti Unka". Storylines. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
2. "Unka, Vasanti". New Zealand Book Council Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa. September 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
3. "Vasanti Unka". Penguin Books New Zealand. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
4. "Bookaroo - a feast of books and authors for children". Business Standard. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
5. "Vasanti Unka - Goa 2015". Bookaroo. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
6. "Workshops and Talks: Bookaroo in India!". Vasanti. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
7. "Kuching: Speakers". Pustaka Bookaroo. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
8. "Pustaka Bookaroo in the City April 21, 2017: Vasanti Unka at Lodge International School". Bookaroo Children's Literature Festival. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
9. "Writers in Communities". New Zealand Book Council Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
10. Unka, Vasanti (18 July 2018). "The Reckoning: The Colour of Culture". The Sapling. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
11. Green, Paula (1 May 2018). "In my hammock: reading Barbara Else's Go Girl: A Story of Epic NZ Women". Poetry Box. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
12. "The Sampling: Three Chapters from Go Girl". The Sapling. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
13. "With a Suitcase of Saris". Facebook. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
14. "With A Suitcase Of Saris : From India To Aotearoa : Stories Of Pioneer Indian Women". UBIQ Bookshop. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
15. "Past Winners: 2014". NZ Book Awards Trust. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
16. Nine to Noon (1 July 2014). "Vasanti Unka - "The Boring Book"". RNZ. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
17. Field, Michael (23 June 2014). "The Boring Book wins top prize". Stuff. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
18. Buchan, Jo (27 June 2014). "The Boring Book is book of the year". National Library. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
19. "New Zealand authors included on 2014 White Ravens list". New Zealand Book Council Te Kaunihera Pukapuka o Aotearoa. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
20. "Five Quick Fire Questions with Vasanti Unka". KidsBooksNZ. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.