Ruchira Gupta

media release: Join us for the June Global Reads Webinar featuring Ruchira Gupta, award-winning author and activist, in conversation about her South Asia Book Award-winning novel, I Kick and I Fly. This conversation will be moderated by South Asia Book Award committee member Dr. Ritu Radhakrishnan.

Participants will be entered to win one of 20 available copies of I Kick and I Fly.

I Kick and I Fly: A Story of Resistance and Empowerment

I Kick and I Fly is a powerful young adult novel that follows 14-year-old Heera, a girl from a red-light district in Bihar, India, who finds strength and self-determination through the unexpected discovery of kickboxing. When Heera’s parents try to marry her off in exchange for money, she must fight—literally and figuratively—to escape the cycle of trafficking and claim a future of her own choosing.

This novel, inspired by real experiences and grounded in Gupta’s decades-long work combating sex trafficking, shines a light on the structural injustices that marginalize young girls while also offering hope through resilience, education, and sport.

About the Author

Ruchira Gupta is an Emmy winning journalist, activist, and founder of the anti sex trafficking NGO, Apne Aap that helps women and girls exit systems of prostitution. She has worked with the United Nations and received numerous awards for her advocacy, including the Clinton Global Citizen Award and the French Ordre National du Mérite. I Kick and I Fly is her debut novel for young adults and draws from her real-life experiences empowering girls to resist exploitation.

About the Moderator

Ritu Radhakrishnan, PhD, is the Department Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the State University of New York at Oswego. She is the coordinator of the Adolescence Social Studies education program and teaches courses in Literacy, Curriculum Studies, Culturally Relevant Teaching, Schools, Pedagogy, and Social Justice, and Elementary & Adolescence Social Studies Methods. She also serves at the Chair of School of Education Diversity Committee, and as the incoming Chair of the Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Subcommittee of SUNY UFS. Her research focuses on incorporating critical pedagogy and aesthetics in social studies curriculum. Specifically, she examines how the integration of aesthetic practices, including children’s and young adult literature, in social studies curricula affect student engagement, voice, and agency.

About the South Asia Book Award

The South Asia Book Award, administered by the South Asia National Outreach Consortium, recognizes up to three outstanding works annually—including picture books, middle grade, and young adult titles—that portray South Asia or the South Asian diaspora with accuracy, nuance, and literary excellence. The award also recognizes Honor and Highly Commended Books. Learn more and explore past winners at: https://southasiabookaward.wisc.edu/