Today we’re thrilled to reveal the cover for She Sang For India: How M.S. Subbulakshmi Used Her Voice for Change by Suma Subramaniam, illustrated by Shreya Gupta! The cover was designed by Sharismar Rodriguez and Neil Swaab. The book will be released on May 24, 2022 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Preorder at the link above or, for signed and personalized copies shipped within the US, here or here (must email or call).
Before M.S. Subbulakshmi was a famous Carnatic singer and the first Indian woman to perform at the United Nations, she was a young girl with a prodigious voice.
But Subbulakshmi was not free to sing everywhere. In early 1900s India, girls were not allowed to perform for the public. So Subbulakshmi busted barriers to sing at small festivals. Eventually, she broke tradition to record her first album. She did not stop here. At Gandhi’s request, Subbulakshmi sang for India’s freedom. Her fascinating odyssey stretched across borders, and soon she was no longer just a young prodigy. She was a woman who changed the world.
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Suma Subramaniam hires software professionals by day and is a children’s book author by night. She is a contributing author of The Hero Next Door (Penguin Random House, July 2019). She’s also the author of Namaste Is A Greeting (Candlewick, Fall 2022). Suma has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Learn more at sumasubramaniam.
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Shreya Gupta is an illustrator and book designer. She is originally from India, but her passion for illustration brought her to the United States, where she pursued an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts. Her work has been featured as a “Google Doodle” logo, in the New York Times, Asia Society magazine and in various major publications. She currently lives in New York, New York.
