Payal Kapadia's Blog

A horrid place where parents dump children

First of all, I would like to congratulate the author of the book Horrid High , Payal Kapadia, who has done an excellent job. The characters Ferg Gottin, Immy Tate, Phil Fingersmith, Fermina Filch and Bat were the characters who played the roles of the protagonists and Dr. Bloom, Covetus Clutch played the role of antagonists. The story was marvellous and fun to read. Although there are many pros in this book, there are also cons. The story was lagging in pace. As there are 32 chapters, each w...

The Swaddle: Payal Kapadia’s Less-Horrid Sequel to ‘Horrid High’

Gone are the Scumbags, Lowlifes, Dimwits and Nincompoops. The houses at HorridHigh have been renamed. The school is no longer horrid. Ferg Gottin and his friendsFermina Filch, Immy Tate and Phil Fingersmith are back for another year at HorridHigh, and they’re happier than they can remember ever being.

The school’s horridprincipal and staff are gone. Kind Granny Grit is the new principal of the school,where the students are allowed to laugh, play and have fun. The children are nolonger forced...

“Where everything is horrid” – Deccan Chronicle

‘Horrid High’ is the world’s most horrid school in new children’s book

New Delhi: Award-winning author of children’s books Payal Kapadia was at a writer’s workshop when the character of a school bully came to her mind and her search for the perfect school for the bully led to her new book ‘Horrid High’.

The book, published by Puffin India, is an adventure in the world’s most horrid school. It tells the story of 11-year-old Ferg Gottin, whose parents look for a school to dump him and forget ab...

The Hindustan Times – “Wickedly, horridly horrid”

Is life getting dull and boring? Pick up the “wickedly funny” book Horrid High: Back to School by Payal Kapadia

It is pretty unusual, but the greatest compliment that I can pay Payal Kapadia is that her new book is truly horrid. Yep, doesn’t sound like greatcompliment, but it is.
I actually know two Payals who are writers. Payal Dhar is mostly quite serious, taking on dark or difficult subjects with a light hand (read Slightly Burnt, published by Scholastic) if you haven’t yet.

Th...

The Hindu – “Malory Towers with a touch of Dahl”

In most school novels, you have boarding schools set in castles, filled with helpful teachers, great friends and superb food. Children spend most of their time solving mysteries or discovering fantastic beasts. Journalist-turned-author Payal Kapadia’s Horrid High series is set in a boarding school from hell, where students are abandoned by their parents and have to deal with crazy teachers and psychotic principals. In Bengaluru for the launch, Payal says, “The story is funny and turns the cla...

Tulika Books – The More Packed With Facts And Figures, The Better They Sell

Browse through any of the must-read book lists for children, and Tulika Publishers is sure to find multiple entries in these lists. This year, Tulika turns 20 and its founderRadhika Menononly wants to do more in the children’s publishing arena. The Chennai-based publishing house, popular for translations, bilingual titles, fabulous illustrations and text that’s crisp as a “bonda”, is working on books about an unhappy moon, a lion who wants to get a haircut, a maharaja who loses his royal elep...

The Indian Express – “We live in a Series and Best-Seller Driven Market”

Ask her what’s her recipe for a successful children’s book and pat comes the reply from author Payal Kapadia. “I don’t take myself seriously. In fact, my daughters Keya (12) and Nyla (18) are the first readers and critics of my books. If a book excites them, I know I am on the right path.” A journalist turned author, Kapadia whose debut novella Wisha Wozzariter won the Crossword Book Award in 2013, was praised for her humour in her second book Horrid High. The 40-year-old author, who is back...

Payal Kapadia takes CIS Students on a trek through the world of fantasy

Bangalore, 27 February 2016:To encourage reading among children, Canadian International School (CIS) invited the award-winning children’s author Payal Kapadia to interact with the school children. As part of the interaction Payal read sections from her recently launched book, ‘Horrid High – Back to School’, a sequel to, ‘Horrid High’. The author enthralled the children in the characters of her new book through her storytelling skills. She chose amusing ways of revamping on their grammar and v...

Hindustan Times reviews Horrid High: Back to School: “A delight for young readers”

Seldom do you come across a novel for young minds, which has the power to engage the easily distracted young guns of this age. However, author Payal Kapadia’s novel, Horrid High Back to School, manages to do it with ease.

Horrid High at The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

The sessions will be dedicated to picture books, chapter books, non-fiction, mythology and mysteries.

Sessions with authors, workshops, even games: the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival’s children’s literature section has lots for book-loving kids

Track the mystery to Holmes’s missing magnifying glass or chase to save the last dodo? Gallop across the Uzbek mountains or swim in the mangroves of the Sundarbans? What do you want to do? Where would you like to be? The children’s literature segm...