About
Vinayak Varma is a brand design and publishing consultant who has created visual properties and narrative strategies for clients such as Geist, Brewsky, the Landmark Group, Big Pitcher, Azim Premji University, Apnalaya, Wavelet, Dark & Light, 81 All Out, Fairtrade Asia Pacific, and the Alternative Law Forum. He has written, edited and illustrated for publishers like Interzone, Pratham Books, Duckbill, Tulika, Speaking Tiger, Amar Chitra Katha, Puffin, Penguin, Hachette and Harper Collins, among others. He was the founder editor of Brainwave magazine, and the brand custodian of Geist. Vinayak hosts the Happy Accidents podcast, and makes music as Moral Panic Button.
Finalist, Best Artwork Category, BSFA Awards, 2024
Shortlisted for a triptych illustration accompanying the short story "Strung Along in Seaforth" by Jonathan Laidlow, published by Interzone in 2023. The BSFA Awards have been presented annually since 1970. The awards are voted on by members of the British Science Fiction Association and by the members of the year’s Eastercon, the national science fiction convention, held since 1955.
First Prize, Excellence in Book Production, FIP, 2019
The Federation of Indian Publishers (the Representative Body of the Publishers in India and affiliate member of International Publishers Association, Geneva), in their annual Awards for Excellence in Book Production, gave the First Prize to धूपैलीबरखा का गीत, the Hindi translation of Vinayak's book The Sunshower Song, in the category of Children's Books (11-17 years) in Hindi. This book was conceived, written, illustrated and art directed by Vinayak, published by Pratham Books, and translated into Hindi by Nirmala Shukla.
Winner, Best of Indian Children’s Writing: Contemporary Awards, 2019
My picture book Jadav and the Tree-Place was a winner in the ‘Heroism’ category. The award was issued by BICW / Multistory.
Best Picture Book: Story, The Hindu Young World-GoodBooks Award, 2019
Award Citation by the jury consisting of Deepa Balsavar, Srivi Kalyan and Jane Sahi: "Angry Akku is an unusual picture book that presents the complex emotion of anger in a sensitive way. […] Vinayak Varma, writer and illustrator of the book, gently teases out the relationship between the feisty Akku and her father, who patiently responds to her dark mood. No single moral or readymade solution is offered but gradually her father encourages Akku both to express her feelings and to move on. Her father's approach of using drawing to bring out Akku's emotions captures a simple, yet powerful way to reach into a child's heart. Akku's drawings are as vibrant as her emotions and this interplay of illustration within illustration has been used very well as a creative device. The text and the images complement each other well. The bold, black lines and the use of brightly-coloured oil pastels add to the impact of each page. Vinayak Varma's gift of storytelling and empathy, and the human values that underpin the text are subtly and powerfully woven together. Akku shows how anger is an honest emotion, while her father makes us cherish the wonderment and deep affection of being a parent."
Digital Book of the Year, Publishing Next Industry Awards, 2016
Awarded for the e-book version of Jadav and the Tree-Place, a biographical picture book about the environmentalist and tree-planter Jadev Payeng, which I wrote and illustrated for Pratham Books’ Storyweaver platform.
Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, 2016
The short story 'Instant Karma' was shortlisted for the 2016 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The announcement can be read here: http://www.commonwealthwriters.org/the-commonwealth-short-story-prize-2016/
Adjunct Professor
School of Design and Innovation
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Bengaluru
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