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Varsha Seshan

The Paradise Flycatcher

March 2, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

It’s impossible to write about The Paradise Flycatcher without mentioning the gorgeous illustrations. I felt the same way about The Golden Eagle, which we read at my book club some time ago. Krishna Bala Shenoi’s art work, right through the book, is stunning, and if for nothing else, I would have picked The Paradise Flycatcher for one of my […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, creative writing, Deepak Dalal, Feather Tales, online reading programme, reading, review, The Paradise Flycatcher

My Year in Workshops – 2024

January 12, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

As someone who loves routine and predictability, it’s amazing how unpredictable my workshops are, each year! Teacher training workshops took me to Indapur, Goa, Satara, Talegaon, Nagpur and Beed, in addition to schools all over Pune. This also meant that I did multiple book club and writing sessions from hotel rooms and cafés, just like […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: book club, creative writing, online creative writing programme, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading

Why I Think Online Workshops Are More Effective than Offline Ones

April 12, 2024 by Varsha Seshan 4 Comments

A Little History I started conducting reading and writing workshops for children in 2013 at the British Library, Pune. It was fun, and the library space was exciting. Both as standalone events and as part of the library’s larger Reading Challenges, it seemed to me that libraries were ideal for workshops of the kind I […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing with children, online workshops for children, reading, reading programme, reading workshop

My Year in Workshops: 2023

January 13, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Writing sessions from the car. Book club sessions from a misal shop on the highway. Guest sessions in my dance class hall. 2023 was a year when I seemed to be juggling rather a lot, especially as my writing programmes were bursting at the seams, plus I started an in-person writers’ club at St. Mary’s […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: book club, creative writing, creative writing with children, online creative writing programme, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Writers' Club

When the World Went Dark

January 3, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I read When the World Went Dark one year after our first lockdown.  And I wondered about including it at my book club. Grief is deeply personal. No one feels the way you feel. It almost feels unfair when people do. Even so, we do want to talk about our grief. Additionally, with any book, we […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, books for ages nine and ten, creative writing, Jane de Suza, online reading programme, reading, When the World Went Dark

The Diary as Story

December 6, 2023 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

In just a few weeks, yet another writing programme will come to an end! Yesterday was the third and last guest session of the season–a creative writing workshop with children’s book author Sowmya Rajendran. I love it when guests reinforce something I’ve been talking about for a while. During yesterday’s session, it was ‘write what […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing with children, epistolary, online creative writing programme, online workshops for children, Sowmya Rajendran

Writing Poetry

February 2, 2023 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve been conducting writing workshops for a long time, and if there’s one thing I love working with, it’s poetry. Nearly every writing programme I conduct begins with a poetry module. Why? Because it’s accessible. It’s far easier to write a poem in a week than it is to write a story in a week. […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing with children, online creative writing programme, online reading programme, online workshops for children, poetry

My Year in Workshops: 2022

January 6, 2023 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The year 2022 was all about flexibility. Conducting online sessions from cafés and hotel rooms.Finishing an online session before boarding a bus to do an in-person session in another city. Adjusting schedules.Cancelling some editions of my book club because children were – finally – travelling.Competing with swimming and cricket coaching and all the other things […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: book club, creative writing, reading, Teacher training

Demystifying Publishing

October 30, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

One of the best things about my creative writing programmes is how much I learn on the way. For one, before each class, I research for hours. One hour of class time typically requires at least four hours of research.And for another, I invite guests to talk about a variety of subjects from science fiction […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: Andaleeb Wajid, creative writing, Demystifying Publishing, guest session, online creative writing programme

Careers in Writing – Fergusson College

January 22, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A career in writing – what does that mean? As part of UGC’s STRIDE (Scheme for for Trans-Disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy), the English department of Fergusson College invited me to talk about making a career in creative writing. What I loved was that I didn’t speak just to students of the English department; […]

Filed Under: Workshops, Writing Tagged With: careers in writing, creative writing, Fergusson College, webinar

Art, Music and Movement with Veda Aggarwal

December 19, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Yes. Each time I invite a guest to speak to my creative writing programme, I realise that the session is as much for me as it is for the children. As a writer, I am often caught in a capitalist circle, writing with a clear goal in sight. What is the purpose of a piece? […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: Art Music and Movement, creative writing, creative writing with children, creative writing workshop, online creative writing programme, online workshops for children, Veda Aggarwal

Staging a Script with Lav Kanoi

November 15, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

What an enriching scriptwriting session we had with Lav Kanoi on Saturday! Ah, there’s nothing like a guest session to bring a fresh spurt of energy to our creative writing programme. “What is a story?” That’s the question Lav began with.I like the question. What is a story, really? As we talked about it, we […]

Filed Under: Children, Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing workshops, Lav Kanoi, online creative writing programme, online workshops for children, scriptwriting

The Butterfly Lion

November 6, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I love Michael Morpurgo. And The Butterfly Lion? I’ve had it on my shelf for ever so long, hoping to share it with more readers someday. That day is nearly here! The Butterfly Lion is a classic. In Michael Morpurgo’s signature style, he tells a heartfelt, almost mystical story in the simplest and most magical of […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, creative writing, Michael Morpurgo, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, reading workshops, The Butterfly Lion

Manolita

November 2, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

In many ways, Manolita is a simple, old-fashioned tale. For a generation that’s immersed in mythology – from the retelling of Indian myths to all the popular books that have their foundation in Greek mythology – I think a story about a selkie set in the modern world is perfect! Jaya makes friends easily, so it comes […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, books for ages nine and ten, creative writing, online reading programme, reading, reading workshop, review

Another Reading Programme Comes to an End!

July 10, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

“Moin and the Monster was my favourite book because there’s a sequel!” said one child, holding up Moin and the Monster Songster. “Mine was The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop,” said another. “It was mysterious and magical!” “I liked Fantastic Mr Fox. But my all-time favourite is The Witches.” And in the midst of all that, one child held […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, Fantastic Mr Fox, limericks, magical stories, Moin and the Monster, online reading programme, reading, rhyme, The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop

The Playwriting Module – Reflections and Resources

May 29, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

And just like that, the playwriting module of my creative writing programme is also over! We read two plays, played with props, explored dialogue, imagined the stage, examined the differences between writing scripts for stage and for screen … And I’m exhilarated. As always, the generosity of the community of teachers and writers online is […]

Filed Under: Resources, Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing resources, creative writing with children, creative writing workshop, drama, playwriting, teaching playwriting

Creative Writing Workshops – Reflections and Resources

May 20, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I spend hours scouring the internet for creative writing resources. I love those hours, even though sometimes I find myself panicking. There are so many wonderful ideas out there! What can I use? I want to use them all! At those times, I need to step away from my laptop and remind myself that I […]

Filed Under: Resources, Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing with children, creative writing workshop, online creative writing programme, online workshops for children, poetry

My Year in Workshops – 2020

January 8, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

2020 was a tough year, such a tough year that it’s become rather redundant to say it. Many of us had to step out of our comfort zones and do things differently. For me, of course, it was no different. For several years now, workshops have been my prime source of income. I’ve had my […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, reading, Workshops for Adults, workshops for children

Workshop Anecdotes

December 11, 2020 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

So many little things happen during workshops! That’s what makes them so much fun. For instance, my reading programme began on Tuesday and I started with Asha Nehemiah’s Trouble with Magic. We spoke about all the wonderful things we’d invent because, in some ways, science and magic are pretty much the same thing. One child […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing with children, creative writing workshop, online creative writing programme, online reading programme, reading workshop, workshops for children

Reflections – Part 2

November 26, 2020 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the first series of reflections, written by children from my first batch of the creative writing programme. The idea of a reflective statement is something that I came to appreciate when I was teaching the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. While I was teaching, however, many students hated […]

Filed Under: Workshops, Writing Tagged With: creative writing, creative writing with children, creative writing workshop, poetry, Poetry Workshop

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