Swati Avasthi (born 1971) is an Indian-American writer of fiction and a professor. Her first young adult novel, ''

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

'', receiving several awards including Cybils Young Adult Fiction Award and a Parents’ Choice 2010 Silver Award. In 2009, her short story "Swallow" was nominated for the

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

and was listed in 2009 Best American New Voices collection. ''Chasing Shadows'' is her second novel, published in 2013, and was listed as "Best of 2013" book by Kirkus, YALSA, and Bank Street. She has taught for

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

, at the

Anoka-Ramsey Community College Anoka-Ramsey Community College is a public community college in Cambridge and Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Founded in 1965, the college annually serves more than 12,500 students as they pursue associate degrees that transfer as the first two years of ...

, and at the Loft Literary Center in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs.

Biography

Avasthi moved from India to

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, where she studied till the age of 18 and her desire was to become a fiction writer. She went to the University of Chicago for a bachelors in humanities with an emphasis on theater. Before studying law, she started working at Victory Gardens Theater for a year. For three years she worked for the Pro Bono Advocates in Cook County in the role of a paralegal and coordinator in the domestic violence clinic. She provided legal assistance in the civil court to abuse victims seeking emergency orders. She was married to John Yopp and the pair moved to

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in 1997 to attend law school. Shortly after, Avasthi gave birth to her first child, and took a leave of absence from law school to raise him. However, in 2000 she left law studies and began writing before the birth of her second child in 2001. She developed her writing skills at the Loft Literary Center in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. She received the in the Loft Mentor Series Award, where she was mentored by

Pete Hautman Peter Murray Hautman (born September 29, 1952) is an American author best known for his novels for young adults. One of them, '' Godless'', won the 2004 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The National Book Foundation summary is, "A ...

, a young adult author, and

Shay Youngblood Sharon Ellen Youngblood (October 16, 1959 – June 11, 2024) was an American playwright, author of short stories and novels, artist, and educator. Her works explored themes of identity, community, and resilience, giving voice to generations of Afr ...

, a writer of novels and plays. From 2007 to 2010, she pursued studies for an MFA at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. Here she received a fellowship from the University to complete her debut novel ''Split'', which she finished by 2008. It was put to auction and the first bidder, Knopf, published it in 2010. Her second novel is ''Chasing Shadows'', which was also published in 2013 by Knopf. In 2011 she began teaching at

and later at Minnesota University.

Awards

As a young adult fiction writer she received the following awards and nominations. #Young Adult Services Division, # School Library Journal Author #Nomination for Bank Street Child Study Children’s Book Award #Nomination for IRA Children’s Book Award for Younger Readers #Nomination for Kentucky Bluegrass Award #Nomination for Louisiana Young Reader’s Choice #Nomination for Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award #Nomination for Oklahoma Sequoyah Children’s Book Award #Nomination for Rhode Island Teen Book Award

Works

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avasthi, Swati Living people Novelists from Minnesota American young adult novelists 21st-century American novelists American novelists of Indian descent American women novelists American women writers of Indian descent Indian emigrants to the United States University of Chicago alumni University of Minnesota alumni Hamline University faculty American women writers of young adult literature 1970s births 21st-century American women writers American women academics Year of birth missing (living people)