About MeI am the author of The Third Eye, winner of the Silver Birch Fiction Award 2009 from the Ontario Library Association. It is a fantasy-adventure based in India + read more and the first book in the Tara Trilogy, which include The Silver Anklet and The Deadly Conch.

The Tiffin, based on the dabbawallas of Mumbai, received critical acclaim and was shortlisted, among others, for the SYRCA (Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Award), MYRCA (Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award) and Red Maple Fiction Awards (Ontario Library Association). It was named one of Quill and Quire’s (magazine offering the most comprehensive look at Canadian-authored books in the country) five best YA books of 2011.

Mission Mumbai, published by Scholastic US and Canada, was on CBC Canada’s must-read books of Summer, 2016.

Embrace the Chicken, published by Orca Book Publishers in January 2019, is on the Canadian Children’s Book Centre list of Best Books for Kids & Teens 2019 and was shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Book Awards 2020/2021

My second picture book, You And Me Both, published by Owlkids Books in April 2020, was inspired by a true story which went viral in 2017.

A chapter book about a genie on hiatus, Genie Meanie, was published by Orca Books in February 2021.

Valley of the Rats, published by DCB is now available; a fun but scary coming-of-age story. Acceptance of other cultures and looking beyond physical appearances are themes, interwoven into the narrative, to add depth to the story.

I live in Vancouver and am deeply committed to representing diversity in my stories.
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My Work Speaker Info Contact Me

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You May Know Me For:

Literature Types
• Picture Books
• Chapter Books
• Middle Grade Fiction
• YA Fiction

Published WorksThe Third Eye
Middle-grade-Fiction – Fantasy
The Dundurn Group
October 2007, Canada

The Silver Anklet
Middle-grade-Fiction – Fantasy
The Dundurn Group
November 2009, Canada

The Deadly Conch
Middle-grade-Fiction – Fantasy
The Dundurn Group
January 2011, Canada

What’s in a Name?
Short Story – Non Fiction - Anthology, “Piece by Piece: Stories About Fitting into Canada
Penguin Canada
March 2010, Canada

The Tiffin
Middle-grade Fiction
Dancing Cat Books (An Imprint of Cormorant books)
2014, Japan China and Taiwan
August 2011, Canada
April 2014, UK

My Best Friend…Not
Chapter Book- Fiction
Pearson Canada : Mental Wellness (Well Aware) Series for the Toronto District School Board
October 2014

Mission Mumbai, A Novel of Sacred Cows, Snakes and Stolen Toilets
Middle-Grade Fiction
Scholastic US and Can

Looking For Lord Ganesh
Picture Book
Lantana Publishing, UK
April 2016

Wrath of Gaia
Speculative Fiction – Short Story – Strangers Among Us, Tales of The Underdogs and Outcasts
Laksa Media Groups Inc
August 2016

Embrace The Chicken
Hi-Lo Novel/Orca Currents
Orca Publishing
January 2019

You and Me Both
Picture Book
Owlkids Books
April 2020

Genie Meanie
Chapter Book
Orca Publishing
February 2021

Valley of the Rats
Middle-Grade Fiction
DCB/Cormorant
Fall 2021

Project Bollywood
Hi-Lo Novel/Orca Currents
Orca Publishing
April 2022

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Speaking InformationInformation for Virtual Visits:

Mahtab’s presentations are tailored to the age of her audience and are peppered with personal anecdotes about the + read more challenges she faces as a writer, trying to meet her daily word quota. She likes to have a fun and interactive session with her audience and encourages participation.
Her books include a strong element of her Indian roots and she encourages discussions and questions on her culture, and diversity in children’s literature. Mahtab immigrated to Canada in 1997 and will share the struggles she faced while trying to fit into Canada and what she did to overcome these challenges.
Her presentations are as follows:
Grades JK-1: 30 minute of storytelling which includes a Q&A session. The focus will be one of her two picture books: LOOKING FOR LORD GANESH or YOU AND ME BOTH.
Grades 2-3: 30 minute of storytelling which includes a Q&A session. This will focus on her chapter book GENIE MEANIE, where she got her ideas and the process of writing this story.
Grades 4-6 and 7-8: 45 minutes duration which includes a Q&A session. Mahtab will focus on any one of the following novels/series: THE TARA TRILOGY, THE TIFFIN, MISSION MUMBAI and EMBRACE THE CHICKEN. She will talk about the inspiration behind these stories, the process of writing, revising, and share writing tips.

Writing Workshops for Grades 4-8: Max of 16 students per workshop
Please contact Mahtab for more details and costs.
1) How to use your own background in your fiction
2) Creating interesting, multi-dimensional characters
3) The Basics of Outlining a story.
4) The fun of Worldbuilding and when to stop building and start writing.
5) Revision Techniques for your stories.
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I will visit:
• Vancouver
• Coast
• Lower Mainland
• Gulf and Vancouver Islands
• Thompson Okanagan
• Northern British Columbia
• Cariboo Chilcotin Coast
• Kootenay Rockies
• The Territories
• Canada - beyond BC
• USA
• International
• Virtually

I Present to Age Groups:
• Grades K-3
• Grades 4-6
• Grades 7-8

Request Booking Info

TestimonialsMahtab’s presentations were not only educational but also very engaging. Her themes of Indian + read more culture and mythology really resonated with our students, as many of them have come from similar backgrounds and have cultural awareness of life in India. However, even if students did not have this background knowledge they were still easily engaged and interested in her stories and trivia. She kept students actively listening by regularly asking questions and offering small prizes as incentives, which really worked for our audiences. She had great multimedia supports, such as pictures and videos, but was still very hands on in her interactions with the students.
In the weeks following her presentation, students regularly requested to read her books from our school’s library. They have been consistently signed out and enjoyed by students in many grades.
We have already recommended Mahtab to another school in our area. We would highly recommend Mahtab Narsimhan as an excellent candidate to tour as an author for the CCBC’s Book Week.
Sincerely,
Amanda Cannon
Teacher-Librarian
Armadale Public School, Markham ON
Show Less On behalf of our staff and students at David Lewis P.S., we'd like to sincerely thank you for the + read more amazing experience we had on Friday when Mahtab visited our school. The students were highly engaged with her photos from India and her stories of how she persisted to write "The Third Eye" and all her other books. Thank you so much for choosing our school to win the Just Read It contest. We will continue to submit book reviews towards this great initiative. Thank you for everything you do to help support teacher-librarians in the TDSB. We couldn't do it without you!

Mahtab, once again, thank you so much for such as inspiring presentation. Both staff and students enjoyed it thoroughly. We wish you luck in all your future writing endeavours, and can't wait to read your new books!

Lindsay McKeag
Teacher/Librarian, David Lewis P.S. Show Less Charles Gordon Sr. P.S. is a senior school. Mahtab did two presentations, one for the grade 7s in + read more April and another for the grade 8s in May. They were well received by both the staff and students. She had the students captivated for one and a half hours. Her presentation focused on all 4 strands of our language curriculum – reading, writing, oral communication and media literacy. She showed many slides and videos which were connected to her books. She talked about Indian Mythology and connected it with Canadian issues like bullying, media literacy etc.

Mahtab is a very knowledgeable author who is committed to her writing. She talked to the students about her research and her struggles (difficulty getting her book published, the number of drafts she had to go through, etc.). She described her personal experiences in detail allowing the students to connect to her with ease and understand her work and passion for writing.

I would highly recommend her for the position of creative writing with teens as she has the experience, knowledge and enthusiasm which are necessities when working with that age group. Please contact me at school if you would like to discuss this letter further.

Sincerely,
Punam Khullar
Teacher-Librarian
Charles Gordon Senior Public School

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Awards and Recognition:The Third Eye

• Winner of the Silver Birch Fiction Award, 2009
• Canadian Children’s + show more Book Magazine has named it a Recommended Read.

The Tiffin

• Quill & Quire named it one of the Top Five Books for Young People in 2011
• Included in the Ontario Library Association’s Best Bets List for 2012
• Nominated for Children’s Book of The Year Award 2012 by the Canadian Library Association.
• Nominated for the Ontario Library Association Red Maple Fiction Award 2013
• Nominated for Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award for 2013 (MYRCA)
• Nominated for the Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choice Award 2013 (SYRCA)

Embrace The Chicken

Nominated for the Chocolate Lily Award 2020-2021 Show Less