About the author

 

Simi Prasad

Simi Prasad is an American expat living in London. Currently, she attends an International independent school and lives with her parents and sister. She wrote Out There at the age of fifteen. It is her first novel.

 

 Simi says, “The book, being set in an alternate utopian future, questions what it means to be perfect. Ava embarks on a compelling journey in an effort to break free from the chains of perfection that have been forced upon her by society. I feel that her struggle reflects some of the pressures which many modern teenagers face today.”

 

There are not many 15-year-olds who would spend their entire school summer holiday writing their first novel; however, Simi’s long-held passion for writing kept her motivated and enabled her to finish the manuscript before returning to school. Simi’s literary ambitions don’t stop there either, as she is already thinking about a sequel!

 

“For a long time I’ve really wanted to write something meaningful and relatable for other teenagers like myself. The summer vacation seemed like the perfect time to do it and my aim is to write a sequel.

 

Simi will be donating a portion of her royalties to Pratham, a children’s education charity. Pratham was founded by UNICEF in 1994 to help provide basic literacy to India’s 100 million illiterate children. The Read India campaign run by Pratham has covered 305,000 out of the 600,000 villages of India and has reached over 33 million children. From 2009-10 onwards, Read India has moved to the next level, Read India II, creating a model that will assist children aged 14-16 years.