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In 2019, we lost a cherished member of our publishing family, Ravina Thakkar. Today Sourcebooks honors her memory and her remarkable spirit by naming our internship program the Ravina Thakkar Sourcebooks Internship Experience. Ravina emulated the kind of broad curiosity we love about those who make books. And perhaps most importantly, she was 100% representative of the people we love and serve most -- writers.
We came to know Ravina as a summer intern, where she eagerly took part in our 360-degree introduction to publishing. A student from Plainfield, IL studying at Northwestern University, Ravina was passionate about bringing education and healthcare to marginalized populations. And she was wild about books not just as a reader, but as a writer. Back in 2013, we were first introduced to Ravina when Sourcebooks published her book, The Adventure of a Lifetime, as a wish grant through the Make-a-Wish organization. Battling cystic fibrosis gave Ravina a lot of time to think up stories, and she began writing her book at the young age of eight. Years later, she came to us as a middle schooler, and although we didn’t know exactly how to publish a book as a “wish grant,” the Sourcebooks team stepped up and said “yes” to making her wish come true. |
And it was much more than just a wish grant. Ravina was put through all the paces of developing and editing her manuscript, and she responded beautifully. When the book was published, she did local media and a festive and full book signing at Anderson’s Bookshop here in Naperville.
We were thrilled to receive updates from her in the ensuing years that she was still writing and, in fact, winning awards for her work. So it was a blessing years later to have her apply for and win one of our coveted internship slots. That enthusiastic youngster we’d published had become a remarkable young woman, ever curious and devoted to the idea that books change lives.
In her enduring memory, Sourcebooks is proud to offer the Ravina Thakkar Internship Experience to the next generations of publishing professionals who will bring authors and their books to the world.
We were thrilled to receive updates from her in the ensuing years that she was still writing and, in fact, winning awards for her work. So it was a blessing years later to have her apply for and win one of our coveted internship slots. That enthusiastic youngster we’d published had become a remarkable young woman, ever curious and devoted to the idea that books change lives.
In her enduring memory, Sourcebooks is proud to offer the Ravina Thakkar Internship Experience to the next generations of publishing professionals who will bring authors and their books to the world.
