It's been ages since I wrote a travel post, although I've been thinking about writing one for a while. Often, there's so much else I want to write that travel posts take a backseat. But Nagaland was special for so many reasons that I decided to write about it even though this post comes almost one month late.The White Owl Literature Festival and Book FairI always dreamed of my writing taking me to places I've never visited. Going to Dimapur, Nagaland, for a literature fest was surreal!I did my first ever event on How I Feel, and although I had a very mixed audience in terms of age-group, I loved it. We explored emotions, drew emojis, and wrote a little, all in this beautiful bookstore, The White Owl. Among the many charming things the literature festival did was to make these steps with our books on them!I did a writing workshop based on my first novel-in-verse, … [Read more...]
My Year in Writing – 2024
Reflecting on my journey as a writer is probably the post I enjoy writing most. Writing is such a slow business and wins are so few and far between that it's easy to get bogged down by all the endless waiting, the ghosting, and the rejections. Yet, when I look back at my year, I realise, again, how far I've come. Each year, I celebrate my wins. I celebrate the books I've written and the ones I'm writing. In brief, here's what my year brought me:two middle-grade books (one was already published by Scholastic Asia, but it came to India in January 2024)a Highlights Foundation scholarship to attend a course on revising a verse noveldozens of school visits, author events, and lit fests... and finally, an agent! Fishbowl Fishbowl is my second novel-in-verse for middle-grade readers. In some ways, it's more ambitious than my first, Uncontrollable, because … [Read more...]
Bookaroo Srinagar 2023
What can one say about a literature fest without being repetitive? Lit fests are special. They fill you up with energy and enthusiasm. They remind you of the joy of reading, writing, and stories.And lit fests in beautiful spaces? They're inspiring. Srinagar is lovely, and equally, Delhi Public School, which hosted Bookaroo, was charming. Look where I conducted both my sessions! Over the last few years, I've been invited to several lit fests. Last year alone, I did events at lit fests in Vadodara, Gurugram, Jaipur and Pune, in addition to smaller ones at various schools in the country. I've shared pictures and anecdotes, and at the risk of repeating myself, I will say that lit fests always leave me on a high.Yet, for a writer, lit fests are a means to an end. They're a way for children to get to know about our stories. They help create some shelf space for … [Read more...]
The Lit Bug Fest 2018
The Lit Bug Fest, Pune's own literary fest for children, was held yesterday, and I'm sure everyone who was there is still on a high. For me, just like last year, it was a delightful experience interacting with readers, talking about my books, sharing ideas, and even being interviewed by two child-journalists!The energy of a lit fest is unmatched. I kept sneaking away from the stall and attending bits and pieces of events, hovering on the outside sometimes, and sitting in at other times. Each session I attended was lovely!I began my day with a story with which I was familiar, retold by Yamini Vijendran. Using puppets and all the drama of her expressive voice and face, she drew us into the story, so much so that I didn't realise that she'd kept us engaged for half an hour!I wanted very much to attend Bhavna Menon's session because I loved her book, Welcome to the Forest. It was as … [Read more...]
The month ahead
There's so much around the corner!This month, apart from all the regular workshops, I'm going to be part of The Lit Bug Fest!The Lit Bug Fest is a children's literary fest to be held on the 29th of April at Persistent Systems, Bhageerath, Senapati Bapat Road. It is an all-day event, and I'm looking forward to it!In May, I have wonderful things in store for me too. I'm going to be speaking at the Asian Festival of Children's Content, Singapore.The first one on the list is Pictionary by another name. I can't quite believe that I'm going to Singapore to officially play Pictionary. The second is a panel discussion, which I'm looking forward to ... We're going to be talking about diversity and inclusiveness, and the challenges we face while writing in Asia - in English or in other languages.I'm also going to be doing an official international launch for the first … [Read more...]
Creative Writing at Vidya Valley School
In the pouring rain, we made our way across the city to a school far, far away. It was beautiful. Greenery all around us, streams in the most unexpected places - this was not a part of the city I knew. I'd heard about Vidya Valley, and met a few students from the school at other workshops. This time, though, I was visiting the school to conduct three sessions with the sixth standard as part of the build-up to the school's very own lit fest.Teaching creative writing to a whole class is always challenging. In a class of forty, if I'm lucky, eight enjoy writing. The rest couldn't care less. When all forty are required to sit together in a classroom and write ... I didn't know what to expect. Yet, in a school with its own literature fest, I was hopeful.The whole day was simply delightful! We talked about all kinds of books, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out about … [Read more...]