Jaya Padmanabhan - Journalist, Essayist, Author

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articles

TOB

reviews

Jaya Padmanabhan is a journalist, essayist, and fiction writer. She writes a column for the San Francisco Examiner and her columns and articles can be found in Forbes, Next Avenue, The Bold Italic/Medium, Elemental and India Currents. Previously, she was the editor of India Currents. Jaya has won 20 awards for her editorials and essays since 2014. She is the author of "Transactions of Belonging," a collection of short stories published in 2014. Jaya is a member of The Writers Grotto (sfgrotto.org). Jaya is a member of San Francisco's Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, working to ensure transparency and government accountability.

First Place 2021 Page Turner Writing Award (Fiction) and the Best Book Title

Transactions of Belonging
The short stories in the collection blend emotion and introspection.

I would recommend this book to any short story lover. The stories are not straightforward thereby doesn't take the reader for granted. The reader is made to think. Imagine. Expand the story in his/her mind. One of the best short story collections that I have read recently. - Booxoul review - April 16, 2018

Goodreads reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book
/show/22283154-transactions-of-belongings

AWARDS WON IN 2021

First Place 2021 Page Turner Writing Award (Fiction) and the Best Book Title

First Place - Blog/Commentary - 2021 SF Press Club Award for "Lessons of Trauma Color the Experiences of Black Children," SF Examiner

First Place - News/Political - 2021 SF Press Club Award for "Historic Debate Highlights Just How Bad the Trump/Biden Debacle Really Was," SF Examiner

First Place - Feature Story/Serious Nature - 2021 SF Press Club Award for "Now That I Care For Her, I Feel For Her," Next Avenue

Honorable Mention - Writer's Digest 90th Annual Writing Competition - "Now That I Care For Her, I Feel For Her"

2021-22 Journalist in Aging Continuing Fellow sponsored by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and the Journalists Network on Generations

Shortlisted for the Page Turner Writing Award (Fiction)

One of the top nine winners of the Chapter One Prize for the first chapter of my debut novel, The Eleventh Letter

AWARDS WON IN 2020

Second Place: “For Aging Immigrants, Food from their Homeland is Key to Happiness”, thebolditalic.com

Third Place: “In brown type”, San Francisco Examiner

Second Place: “Tiger Woods, Stephen Curry, Erik Kratz and the Demography of Sports”, San Francisco Examiner

AWARDS WON IN 2019

First Place - 42nd Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards "Am I an unequal citizen of America?," San Francisco Examiner (Newspapers-Daily, Blog/Commentary)

Second Place - 42nd Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards "In brown type," San Francisco Examiner (Newspapers-Daily, Columns-Features)

First Place - 42nd Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards "Questions of Identity," India Currents (Digital Media, Columns-Features)

First Place - 42nd Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards "What does our society need?," India Currents (Digital Media, Blog/Commentary)

Second Place - 42nd Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards "Vinod Khosla's Illiberal Views on Education," India Currents (Digital Media, Blog/Commentary)

FAVORITE ESSAYS

Now That I Care For Her, I Feel For Her • Next Avenue • Published on Dec 22, 2020
"Our relationship will always be an imperfect one, but it rests on the twin pedestals of her trust and my caring."

Historic debate highlights just how bad the Trump-Biden debacle really was • The San Francisco Examiner • Published on Oct 2, 2020 | News Columnists
James Baldwin and William F. Buckley thoughtful, eloquent in 1965 face-off over race

For Aging Immigrants, Food from Their Homelands Is Key to Happiness • The Bold Italic • Published on March 18, 2019
Stories from California's immigrant seniors clinging to the flavors of their past

The Audacity of My Secularism • Editorial, India Currents • Published on June 2, 2016
At a dinner recently, the conversation drifted to the politics of religion in India.

Waiting to inhale: The curious incidence of tears and laughter at death • The Hindu • Published on January 19, 2018
Remembering the day my father died.

inDIALOG
- Television to inspire
View the archived website

India West writes about inDIALOG
by Lisa Tsering ( Dec 29, 2000)
Excerpts:
"A new Indian American television show seeks to break the "Bollywood and more Bollywood" mold, with interviews with prominent Indian politicians and artists."
"Padmanabhan produces, directs and coanchors the show with classical dancer Vidhya Subramaniam. As they explain in a press release, the show "draws the spotlight on the singular achievements of individuals.....artists, musicians, authors, entrepreneurs and other captains of industry." "